New Members
by Sakura Himitsu
Summary: Two new mutants show up causing chaos everywhere they go. They are extremely powerful. Mutant X must get them on their side before the other side does! I wrote this a while ago, then just uploaded everything, get past 1st chappy and I promise it's good X]
1. Who is Who

It was another normal day at the Sanctuary. Adam was already up fixing something in his lab. If I remember correctly, Adam was still in his lab last night when I fell asleep. I wonder. Did he even sleep last night? Maybe I should go ask him. Or maybe I should stay up tonight and spy on him. I just hope he doesn't do anything I'm not supposed to see.

Just then, my best friend walked toward me, yawning loudly and rubbing her eyes. We said good morning to each other and the usual talk of how lucky we were to have been able to join Mutant X. You see, we are two young teenagers who knew we had a lot powers. Adam took us in after our parents abandoned us because they were afraid we would use our powers against them. We were quite troublesome at first, using our powers for our own pleasures.

We are girls, even though you might have thought we were boys if we told you what things we have done. My name is Alex and my best friend's name is Sam, but my friend is also known as 911. That fact was a secret to Mutant X. I don't have a nickname but in the short time we joined Mutant X, Brennan has already started calling me danger. Actually 'danger to the whole human race' is what he said the first time.

I am what Adam calls a molecular /feral. I have shape shifting ability and I have characteristics of a fox. Which is really cool because I can turn into any mutant when I want to and have their power as well. My friend, 911 or Sam, is what Adam calls a elemental/psionic. She can shoot fire and ice from her hands as well as telekinesis and telepathy which allows her to move things with her mind and read minds or change people's minds. Sam's powers using her mind are pretty broad. Our powers are very fun. Believe me, they're _very_ fun.

Okay, enough about us. Let's talk about the other members of Mutant X. There's Adam, this old, well not that old, guy who's super smart, super rich and super serious. Adam is the leader of Mutant X. He's no fun at all sometimes. He's really mysterious and calm most of the time. The only emotions I've seen him show are only concern of other's safety and anger. And what's with his wardrobe? He's always wearing black or dark blue clothes most of the time, or some other dark color. No bright or light colors at all. But above all these, he's a really nice and caring person.

Then, there's Shalimar. She is the first mutant recruited by Adam. She is a feral mutant whose characteristics are like a cat. First, her eyes glow this golden yellow and then she'll kick your butt with all the skills and cunning of a cat and a good fighter. She is probably one of the strongest fighters in Mutant X. She can really kick some serious butt. You're as good as dead if you have to fight her. She's a really tough chic. But underneath the tough image, there's a really caring and passionate person. She's really protective of the ones she love.

The second mutant recruited by Adam is Jesse. He's a molecular mutant. He can make his body physically dense. If you don't know what that means, then in other words, it's like Jesse turns into rock. Just without the stiffness and without being able to move or walk. He can also phase himself and walk through walls or anything that's solid. He's a sensitive guy but don't think he can't kick butt. He can fight just as well as the others. He's also really good at computers, but not as good as Adam ,of course. I think Jesse is a very sweet guy and he's also very nice. Jesse is very sensitive as well.

The third mutant recruited by Adam is Emma. At first, she didn't want to accept her powers but she finally did with some help from Adam. As a psionic mutant, she can manipulate other people's emotions to make them do what she wants. It comes in handy when other mutants or people aren't cooperating with Mutant X. She can also blast people's minds with a mental blast. She can't fight bad guys like the others, so the mental blasts are what she uses. If you asked me which member of Mutant X is the closest to Adam, I would say it's Emma. I think Adam treats Emma nearly like she was his daughter.

Now the last member recruited is Brennan. He used to be a thief. Brennan is an elemental mutant. He can shoot lightning from his hands which I think is really kool. Though my friend can shoot fire and ice. Brennan is popular among the girls but I'm not saying Jesse isn't. Brennan wears sleeveless shirts most of the time, I think it's to show off his muscles. He loves fast cars and I guess that goes well with his good looks. Brennan is good-looking and looks very kool. But of course, Jesse is also good-looking. Jesse has less of Brennan's bad boy looks and more of a friendly and sweet guy's look. So they're both handsome guys but with different looks. Brennan might be the second strongest in the team or maybe even as good as Shalimar.


	2. The Coffee Dumper

Now, you pretty much know everyone in Mutant X. We live sanctuary and all share household duties. It's a big place so we all have to do our part of the chores. As my friend and I were watching Adam working quietly in his lab, Jesse was creeping up behind us to try to scare us.

"What are you up to, Jesse?" we asked him, then turned around to face him. He had froze when we caught him so now he was in a stance as if he were going to pounce on us. He had a startled expression on. We stared at him and then laughed. No one was going to sneak up on us or surprise us because we're the masters at that. He stood up straight and smiled.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Oh, we just did," we replied with mischievous grins.

Later, everyone was awake. They were made coffee and was drinking coffee. We wanted to also drink coffee, but they told us we were too young to drink coffee. But who did they think they were? Telling us not to drink coffee! Knowing the way we are, they dumped the coffee in the sink as soon as everyone got a cup. They didn't want us stealing any.

"Who dumped the coffee?!" we asked together.

"I did," said Adam.

"What were you thinking?" we asked Adam. "Throwing away perfectly good coffee!" We tried to use guilt on Adam, but that obviously didn't work.

"Wait a minute," we said. "Who made the coffee?"

"I did," said Brennan.

Sam and I stared at Brennan suspiciously, then at the others. "Do you all feel fine?" we asked.

Everyone replied, "Yeah. Why?"

"Okay, just checking. Because you never know, _Brennan_ made the coffee."

"Hey!!!" yelled Brennan. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing in particular," we said in a singsong voice while snickering behind his back.

Later that day, we thought up a plan for getting back at Adam for dumping the coffee. It may be only coffee but to us, it means much more. We're not going to let some grown-ups boss us around, we can do _anything_ we want and get _anything _we want.

I made sure all the others were out and Sam went to the computers to disable the com-link rings. Then we put our plan into progress. We wanted to scare Adam out of his wits or at least get him to worry enough. Sam also made holograms of the others and myself. The plan was to make Gabriel Ashlocke was back and that all the other members were dead except Sam, who was supposed to protect Adam. Then she will die also, right in front of him.

The plan was now ready to carry out. Sam made all the holograms of the members lay dead on the floor, then I transformed into Gabriel Ashlocke. Next, Sam screamed and ran to Adam telling him that all the others had died because Gabriel Ashlocke had snuck into sanctuary and killed them. Hopefully, everything was accounted for.


	3. The Prank

"Ahh!!!" screamed Sam. "Adaaaaammmmmmm!!! Everyone's dead, Gabriel Ashlocke snuck in and killed them!"

Adam looked up at Sam's terrified face and got up in a flash. "Are you sure, Sam?" he asked her. "You sure this isn't one of your pranks?"

"No!" said Sam sobbing. "I'm not lying, go and see the others! Wait! We have to worry about Gabriel Ashlocke first. There's no time to worry about the others!"

At that moment, I stepped into the room as Gabriel Ashlocke. I wore an evil grin on my face and stared at Adam like a venomous snake ready to strike its helpless prey. Adam's jaw dropped and his face turned pale but recovered quickly. He shoved Sam behind him and told her to run and get the subderal governor. I blasted Sam with a bolt of lightning before she could get. But it was the pretend part. The bolt of lightning I blasted her was only strong enough to knock out a little puppy and she would pretend to be knocked out unconscious.

With Sam on the floor, there was no one to protect Adam except himself. He moved slowly trying to find any opportunity to try and get the subderal governor. Surprisingly, he tried to talk his way out.

"Gabriel," he said. "Don't do this."

"Why?" I asked. "So you can destroy me once you get some of your teammate freaks back?"

"No," answered Adam. "But you'll never get anything out of killing us. You can join us."

"You don't get it, do you? I'm getting revenge here………. Because you DUMPED THE COFFEE!"

Adam stopped and looked at me in total confusion. "Excuse me?"

Then I transformed back into myself. When Adam saw this, I swear he could have bitten our heads off but then again it _was_ Adam. Then Sam got up from the floor and looked at Adam with a big grin.

"Adam," said Sam between giggles. "When I came into the room and told you that all the others were dead, you should have seen the look on your face! It was priceless and I wished that I had a camera."

"Yeah," I said, cracking up. "I have never seen you so alarmed in all the time we were here."

"Very funny, guys," said Adam sarcastically. "So, what happened to all the others?"

"We killed them."

"Don't be fresh with me."

"Okay, I admit it," I said. "I convinced them to leave and then Sam made holograms of them dead outside."

"So I could have contacted them on my com-link and your plan would have backfired," said Adam.

"Not true," Sam said. "I took care of that. I shut off the com-links using the computers."

"I should have known," muttered Adam. "That it was you two all along. Gabriel's dead but he still haunts me, so I guess your plan worked. But…..what did I do to make you two so mad?"

"You dumped the coffee!!!" we both yelled.

"It's just coffee!" said Adam. "Plus, it's bad for your health!"

"First of all, it is not just coffee but good coffee or it might have been if Brennan didn't make it. Also we want you to know, you can't boss us around just because you are a lot older than us!" we said. "And we stress _a lot older_."

"Don't make fun of me," said Adam. "I'm no _that_ old."

"Whatever, so who is this Gabriel Ashlocke we've heard so much about?" asked Sam seriously. "When Alex became Gabriel Ashlocke, we weren't really sure what kind of powers he had. But luckily, we did a lot of research on your computers. He seems like a really dangerous guy who you are really afraid of."

"That's because he _is_ a dangerous guy," defended Adam. "Or was anyway, 'cause he'sdead. And you two are really BAD!!!"

"Well, DUH!" we said. "We were bad, remember?"

"Yeah," said Adam. "You two used to be the biggest threat to mankind. Can you believe it? Two puny little teenagers? Causing so much trouble!"

"PUNY?!" we yelled. "Who are you calling puny?! Just be on your guard, Adam! You won't even know what hit you before it's too late! For calling us puny!"

"But I should be glad you're not as bad as before you joined Mutant X," admitted Adam.

"I guess spending so much time with you goody-goodies rubbed off on us," we said miserably. "We need some laughter and prank victims here. You seem to be the perfect victim!"


	4. The Punishment

Just then, the others came back. Adam was relieved to see them still alive and that we weren't lying to him. He was actually overjoyed to see them, spending time with us alone can really scare a guy. Even the strongest or toughest ones.

"How was lunch?" I asked.

"It was great, but I would like to know what happened here?" Brennan asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked." We didn't do anything."

" I mean why are there holographic images of us on the floor." Shalimar said.

" Also, I sensed fear coming from Sanctuary as we came closer" Emma said in a the worried tone

"So we hurried back and tried the com-link rings but they weren't working." said Jesse.

"We were just playing a harmless joke on Adam and we didn't want you guys to interfere," I said.

"Are you kidding me?" Adam exclaimed "That so called joke nearly scared me to death."

"Wow! What could you two have done that scared our fearless leader, Adam, to death?" Jesse asked

"If you guys want to know, I suggest you to watch the tape from Sanctuary's camera in Adam's lab." I said. " I thought the prank came better than we had expected and everything turned out fine."

"Now that you two have had your fun, it is time for you to do some work." said Adam with a big smile on his face.

"I think Adam has a lot of work for us," I whispered toward Sam.

Then, using her psionic abilities, she tried to read Adam's mind. However, she couldn't seem to find anything.

Just then, he said, "I want you two to do everyone's chores for two weeks."

"That'snot fair. We were only playing a joke. Plus, we didn't hurt anyone," Sam and I said together.

"Fine then. Sam and Alex, you both will have to do want I say for one week," Adam said.

"Well, that is not any better than everyone's chores," Sam exclaimed.

"I'm letting you choose. So pick one," Adam said seriously.

"I guess we will do what you say for one week," we both said together.

Then , Adam had us clean his lab and fix the com-link rings. Then he made us help him in the lab. And man, it was boring. I don't know how Adam can spend endless hours working in his lab. He was always testing something. Even though, I found it all very boring, Sam seems to like it and might enjoyed it. For all I know, Sam maybe the next Adam.

Finally, the week was over and I can leave that stupid lab. Sam, on the other hand, still went back. She said she wants to see what will happen to the frog's DNA or something like that. I think she might be interested in all that science stuff that Adam does in his lab. Anyway, I went to the dojo to kick some butts and stretch out a bit. Sitting in that lab all day can make anyone very stiff.

All of a sudden, Adam called us to the Helix and said the GSA was after another new mutant. It is Mutant X's job to rescue the new mutants. Then, I started thinking of our first encounter with Mutant X. Sam and I were together chased by GSA. The GSA, genetics security agents wanted to capture all the new mutants and then they would experiment with them and try to make perfect soldiers. Thank God Mutant X rescued us before we wasted our precious lives and time to have fun and wreck havoc in stasis, not that we needed rescuing though. We could have killed all those stupid GSA freaks.

flashback

Sirens could be heard all around the city. Police cars were speeding to the bank, not caring about the traffic lights. Reporters and TV news vans were rushing to the bank also, after word of a bank robbery broke out. Lately, there has been a lot of crimes and felonies happening in the big city but the criminals has never been caught. There were no witnesses. No one saw anything. All suspects were cleared. They didn't find and have anything.

Sam and I emptied as many vaults as we could. We heard the police sirens. Police cars were already outside.

"Come out with your hands up! We've got you surrounded and we will open fire if necessary!" yelled a police officer.

Sam froze the front-doors shut so no one could get in or out. Then she changed the police's minds and everyone else's minds who knew about the bank robbery. She told them that they were mistaken. There was no bank robbery. We heard the police cars driving away and laughed to ourselves. It was too easy. We stashed the money in our backpacks and walked out of the back of the bank casually and went back to our hideout. It was an old abandoned factory.

We were walking cheerfully toward the old factory when some men in suits stepped out of nowhere and blocked our way. One of the men seem to be the leader there. They were holding some sort of mixture of a gun and a hammer weapon. We thought they were here because we had robbed the bank but Sam tapped into their minds. They were after us because someone old, white hair, white suit, dude named Mason Eckhart told them to. This Eckhart is the leader of the GSA and Adam's rival and arch enemies. He hated Adam very much and the feeling from Adam toward him is the same. He wants mutants to be soldiers for his country. He is very patriotic.

Enough about old people, back to us, we were about to kick some serious butts but then they came. The Double Helix landed and Brennan shot some electric. Then, Mutant X and the GSA locked horns and started to fight. Knowing it was like a war, we left and moved out of our hideouts.


	5. The Rest of the Flashback

Sam and I decided to cause more havoc. We went to the city's power plant and caused a blackout. I guess Sanctuary felt the blackout too because again they came looking for us. So, we decided to give Mutant X a taste of our power. This time, Adam was with them probably to fix the blackout.

First up was Brennan and Sam went up against him. After seeing his power, we knew what we were up against. Sam charged in as Brennan shot some lightning. Sam ducked close to the ground and avoided the blast. At that same time, Adam, Emma and Jesse rushed into the power plant and found the generators frozen thanks to Sam.

The battle rages on and the winner is undetermined. Punches and kicks were flying. Ice freezing the ground. Fire and lightning scorching the earth. Mutant X was more formiable than we imagined. However, Brennan started to tire out. Apparently, the battle with the GSA weakened him more than he had imagined.

Sam, who had sensed it, made an offer. She said she won't be using her power if Brennan won't use his.The reason for her offer was because using his power was weakening him. Then, they fought again. They charged into each other and punches were thrown. Kicks were flying and blocked. Finally, a winner emerged. With one quick uppercut, Sam caught Brennan off guard and knocked him out.

Next up, Shalimar and I decided to fight. Shalimar was furious to the fact that Brennan was hurt badly. Also, she realized that we were powerful even though we were young. I knew she wasn't going to underestimate me. I thought maybe I could get her distracted and get an edge. Too bad, she was way too focused on me.

Then, it happened. Shalimar's eyes glowed yellow and let her feral side take over. She started to jump and the jumps turned into flying kicks. Using my fox feral instincts, I quickly darted to the other side. Realizing that I am a feral too, she challenged me to fight using only feral instincts to see who was better.

I accepted her challenge. I focused to bring out my feral side. Then, the fox took over. My vision were like a fox. Also, I felt my abities heightened. Now I was ready to fight. Shalimar looked happy that I complied to her challenged. I quickly dashed forward and pounced on her. On the floor, she kicked me off. Recovering from that attack, I jumped and landed my feet. Shalimar tried a triple flipped kick and she almost hit me but my instincts told me to block.

All of a sudden, Adam talked over the ring and distracted. I took that distracted moment and tackled her. She fell down and was knocked out as well. Hearing his team groaning and moaning, Adam rushed out and saw us and also that Brennan and Shalimar were unconscious. Jesse and Emma were ready to defend Adam. We told them that we only wanted to fight Mutant X to test our power. We knew Adam had recruited four of the most powerful. We will not kill anyone but we will fight until they give up or gets knocked out. Emma confirmed what we said when she read us.

Jesse agreed to fight because he wanted to avenge for Brennan and Shalimar. Emma agreed as well. We told Adam that he can be the referee or something. I got to fight Jesse and Sam fought Emma. The fight didn't last long because physically they weren't as strong as Brennan and Shalimar and we beat them so they were easy. Though their power proved to be a threat, we managed to hold our ground until they were all worn out.

While we were fighting, Adam thought Emma and Jesse would win but then he noticed that we were physically tougher and we had a great deal of control over our powers as well. That interested and frightened him because we were very powerful but in the wrong hands and the wrong side, we could be deadly threat to Mutant X as well as the whole world.

When Jesse and Emma couldn't take anymore, we stopped and turned to go. However, Adam asked us to stay or at least give him our name. We told him our names and were about to leave until we saw Adam struggling to bring his team back to the Helix. Sam and I felt bad so we went back to help Adam carry all four them aboard the Helix. Once they were aboard, Adam asked us to come to Sanctuary where we could develop our power. It was an interesting offer because we wanted to find some place where we could use our powers freely. We lived in that factory because it was abandoned with no one. So when we use our power, no one will know. We accepted his offer and joined Mutant X.

end of flashback


	6. The First Mission

Sam and I hurried excitedly to the Helix. This was going to be our first mission and we were determined to have fun with our powers. When everyone was onboard, the Helix took off. We landed in a place where no one would see and set out on foot. We stormed into Genomex to rescue some new mutants. Eckhart and most of his top agents had went out for a meeting that Adam had planned in Antarctica. It was very cunning of Adam.

"Adam," said Brennan while we were outside Genomex. "That was very smart of you to trick Eckhart."

"No, it isn't!" we complained. "We wanted to kick some Eckhart butt and also his top agents!"

"Shh!" said Adam. "Okay, now. Shalimar and Sam will go in from the front and Jesse and Alex will go in from the back. Emma and I will go in from the right and Brennan, the left. Once inside, you know what to do. So, Shalimar and Sam and Brennan will take out the guards. Emma and I will shut off the computers and Jesse and Alex will search for the new mutants. Oh yeah, and uh, Alex and Sam, no goofing around."

We all nodded and went our separate ways. Jesse and I followed Adam's instructions and went to the back. We didn't want to break down the door and set off the alarm. I transformed into Jesse, which scared the hell out of him to see himself standing in front of….himself.

"Whaaattt?" I asked. "I wanna be able to phase through the door, too!"

We phased through the door. I transformed into Eckhart while phasing through the door. That startled Jesse, but I assured him it was I by showing him my com-link ring. We looked around. Some guards were standing guard. They saw Jesse and charged toward him but stopped when they saw me. They were confused. I motioned for them to come.

"What is it, sir," they asked me.

"Oh, nothing," I said. "Just this."

Jesse and I hit them both at the same time and knocked them out. We stepped on top of them and gave each other a high-five. I transformed into Shalimar and surprised Jesse again, but he knew it was me.

"Will you stop changing already?" complained Jesse.

"No way," I replied. "It's fun and I get to use new powers."

We continued on. We walked cautiously and were met with a ton of guards when we turned around a corner. They came charging towards us with weapons. I easily kicked them out of their hands and threw some punches and kicks and the guards landed on the floor. Jesse phased through them, then turned around quickly and kicked them in the back while changing his body's density. That made the kicks extra painful for the guards. I picked one the guards by his shirt collar.

"Tell me where the new mutants are locked away," I told him in a threatening voice. "Or you will find out the real meaning of pain!"

"N…no…never!" groaned the guard.

I held up my fist ready to pound his face into the ground. "Tell me!"

"Uh, they're in…." I held my fist higher and tightened my grip on him. "They're in the basement!"

"Okay!" I said cheerfully and got up. The guard blew a sigh of relief but then I hit his head and knocked him out. Jesse smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

When we started in search of the others. We found Shalimar, Brennan and Sam after a while kicking some butt. Sam was freezing any guard coming her way. So they were like frozen Popsicles and barbeque if Sam decided to use fire. Brennan was electrocuting the guards and also attacking them. Shalimar punched the guards in the stomach and kicked them. She jumped up over the guards' heads and struck them from behind. I changed into Sam and froze some guards. Jesse went mass and charged into the guards.

When all the guards were down, we used the elevator and went down into the basement. We found the new mutants locked up in a big cell. Brennan used his electricity to pick the locks and released them and sent to the safe house. Adam and Emma met us later outside at the Helix. We boarded the Helix and went back to the Sanctuary. This was our first mission and we loved it. We couldn't wait until our next mission.


	7. Restlessness

When we got back to Sanctuary, everyone was very tired and wanted to go to bed. Sam and I wanted to have more fun so we went to the dojo and practiced. We managed to convince Jesse to come practice with us. He was reluctant but we said we'd bother him all night if he didn't come. We walked into the dojo. I transformed into Britney Spears and Jesse looked at me confused.

"Are we going to be singing and dancing?" asked Jesse.

"Nope, I just wanted to see if you have the hots for Britney Spears," I replied cracking up. "But I guess the fact that it's me, it'd be weird, huh?"

"Yep."

"Oh, well. Why don't you just forget it's really me?"

"That still won't work."

"Okay."

"Enough chit chat, Jesse, can you spar with us for a while. I can't sleep and need to burn off so energy," said Sam

"I need my sleep. Why don't you go find Adam. Adam never sleeps," answered Jesse.

So we left Jesse's room and went out to the rec room. Sam and I thought maybe we should go out and have so fun. Sam thought it was a bad idea because Adam probably don't want us out in the middle night and cause trouble.

"Maybe we should see if Adam is still up," I said.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"He might have so simulation we can try out," I said.


	8. In Adam's Room

As we walked towards Adam's room, we heard noises. Sam assumed it was only water dripping combined with snoring. I thought differently. I thought it was some whispers but everyone was sleeping so it couldn't be. I believed Sam. As we entered Adam's room, we heard Adam snoring softly and sound asleep. The room was very dark because there was no windows. Then, my eyes glowed and I felt another presence in the room besides Adam, Sam and I.

We walked cautiously and slowly inside.

"Be careful, Sam," I whispered. "I sense another presence in the room."

"Oh, who is it?" Sam whispered back to me.

"I don't know," I answered. "Oh, wait…..it's………..gone."

Sam tripped over something as she got closer to Adam's bed. I found the light switch and turned it on. We found Adam on the floor and it seems that Sam had tripped over him. Because at that moment Adam moaned as if something hit him. Luckily, we didn't wake him up. I guess Adam roll off his bed when he was sleeping. He must be really tired because when he hit the floor, he didn't wake up. Maybe he was too tired to get back up.

We decided to get Adam back onto his bed without waking him because I knew he didn't sleep and this was a rare event. I took Adam's feet and Sam grabbed his arm. Slowly, we carried him onto his bed. However, he was heavier than we thought and it took us more strength. Once in his bed, Adam seemed more comfortable. Then, we left and Sam thought she heard Adam say thank you. After that, we were tired and retired to our rooms and fell asleep.


	9. The Game

I guess I was more tired than I had originally thought because I didn't wake until 9:00 a.m. which is very late to me. I noticed two other people were awake beside me though. Sam was in the bathroom brushing her teeth. Adam, in his lab, probably working. I wonder when he woke up. Once I ate breakfast, everyone started to get up. Today, there is no mission so Adam made us train. We played basketball the rest of the day and then a surprising guest joined us.

Adam, wearing a t-shirt and shorts and a headband around his head, which I didn't know he had, came out and play. He wanted to play a game. We agreed on a game boys versus boys. Emma said she'd rather be scorekeeper which was good because that meant the teams would be even.

We agreed to go easy on them because Adam never plays. We let the boys get the ball first because Adam probably isn't really good. Boy, were we wrong. Adam played like a pro. As soon as the ball reaches his hands, in a matter of seconds, it's in the hoop. Half way through the game, we were losing until Sam suggested that we use our powers. Shalimar said it would be like breaking a rule. I said that we never agreed on that rule. That convinced Shalimar and we all agreed.

The boys or I should said the boys _and_ the old man had no idea what we were planning. That was a good thing because they'd never expect it. Once we used our power, we scored really quickly. Near the end, the game was close. Our powers only leveled the playing field . Adam's skills kept it a close game.

Surprisingly, Jesse and Brennan didn't use their powers. I bet it was because Adam told them not to. Finally, with 10 seconds remaining, Adam's team managed to pull a two point lead. We only had 9 seconds left to make a shot. I thought we should tie the game instead of risking a 3 pointer because they seemed worn out. If we extend the match, we will win for sure.

Shalimar agreed but Sam didn't seem so sure. She wanted to finish the game as soon as possible. At the end, we tied the game. After a few shots, we defeat them easily because Adam, their lead scorer, was really tired and Jesse and Brennan weren't doing too well either. We left the court very happy but all of us seemed very surprise at Adam's skills because everyone including me asked Adam a lot of questions.


	10. Kaboom!

After the discovery of Adam's basketball skills, Sam tried her hand at cooking to see if she had any cooking skills. In hopes of making the best meal Mutant X had ever tasted, Sam watched many cooking shows and learn as much as possible. The day came and Sam hoped she was prepared to serve Sanctuary.

She gathered all the proper ingredients and cooking utensils. Wash this, rinse that. Chop this, slice that. Boil this, fry that. With a spice of this and a splash of that, she was done. Sam had made sure no one entered the kitchen while and after she cooked. But everyone didn't care. They were delighted especially Adam because it wasn't their turn to cook. Sam set the table and made sure everyone was sitting at the dinner table.

"It looks delicious," Jesse. "But is it edible?"

"What did you say?!" asked Sam with a fireball in her hand.

"Uh, I meant, who's brave enough to try it first?"

"WHAT?!!!" shouted Sam and the fireball in her hand grew bigger.

"Don't burn Sanctuary down," warned Adam.

"Hmm," said Sam in deep thought.

"Oh #$!" said Adam. "Me and my big mouth." Everyone's head turned in the direction of Adam in a snap, with their jaws dropped.

"What…what did you just say, Adam?" asked everyone staring at him.

"Um, uh, uh, I said 'oh that sucks' too quickly," smiled Adam nervously.

"Oh, okay…"said everyone. They didn't pester him anymore about it because, after all, this _is_ Adam.

Everyone looked at each other, trying to dare the other to eat first.

"Enough of this nonsense!" said Shalimar. "Brennan, you go first."

"Hey," Brennan complained. "Why me?"

"Maybe we should ask Adam to see what we're going to do about it," suggested Emma.

"Oh, huh?" asked Adam, who hadn't been paying much attention. "I'm on with Shalimar's side."

"Thanks, Adam," smiled Shalimar. "Come on, Brennan. You go first."

Brennan whined and tried to complain but everyone stared at him, in a way threatening him. He took one last look at everyone and said," It was nice knowing you." Before he took a bite of some food.

We expected him to choke or fall on the floor holding his neck making gagging noises. We watched him and studied him.

"What am I?" asked Brennan. "Some kind of lab rat?"

"No," said everyone. "So how does the food taste?"

"It's delicious," replied Brennan.

"What?! Why didn't you tell us? Remember, you're supposed to test the food!"

"Well, I just thought that since you're treating me this way. I might as well take advantage of your assumptions."

Everyone started digging in before Brennan finished his sentence. They forgot all about the poison it might contain and just enjoyed themselves. After the meal, when Adam and Jesse were carrying the dirty dishes back to the kitchen. We heard plates breaking and everyone but Sam rushed to the kitchen. The plates were dropped due to the shock. The kitchen was a mess. Everything was everywhere. The kitchen looked like it had just barely survived a war.

"SAM!!!" Adam yelled at the top of his lungs and in the sternest voice we've ever heard. "Get your sorry butt in here!"

Sam walked into the kitchen and asked Adam what was the matter.

"What is the matter you ask?!" said Adam. "Look around you."

"Oh, I never noticed before," said Sam.

Everyone stared at Sam and said chuckling, "You won't be able to get out of this one as easily as other trouble you cause."

Sam apologized and admitted she did the damage, but not on purpose. She made a deal with Adam.

"If you don't ground me, like, forever, then I'll clean up the kitchen and repair it with some help…" said Sam looking at Brennan and Jesse.

"Uh, um, I'm suddenly very busy," said Brennan.

"Yeah, yeah. I just remembered something I forgot to do," said Jesse.

They both turned to walk away but stopped when I said, "Hey! Are you guys or are you chicken?!"

"We're not chicken!" said both of them together. "Fine, we'll do it! Because what you said is not true!"

Sam and I smiled at each other, then I whispered with an evil tone, "There's your help."

"Thanks," replied Sam.


	11. Um, Adam?

After a week of cleaning and repairing the kitchen, Sam, Jesse and Brennan were finally done. Brennan and Jesse made it clear to Sam that she owed them big-time. Everything was pretty normal at Sanctuary except Adam seem to be a little odd and even a bit different. Adam doesn't seem to spend much time in his lab anymore and more time in the dojo training.

But one day, something really odd happened, Sam and I decided to work out with Adam. As we expected, he was training. We decided to watch and all of a sudden we saw Adam's eyes glow yellow as if he were a feral mutant. We were a little shocked because Adam is no new mutant because he created them. Sam jumped in and started to fight Adam because she wanted to see if he was a feral.

As she and Adam fought, I noticed Adam was becoming faster and more deadly every minute. Finally, Adam started to slow down and Sam saw this. She started slowing down as well. Then, Adam felt dizzy and started falling down. Sam used her power to slow Adam while he was falling and I jumped up and caught him. We brought Adam to his room. Apparently all that training and fighting with Sam tired him and he fainted.

When Adam was in his bed sleeping, Sam told me something very disturbing. When she was fighting Adam, the guy she was fighting wasn't Adam. She couldn't describe it but it was like someone had taken over Adam's body and made him fight. But that wasn't all, the real Adam emerged when he was worn out and then he fainted.

Then, I thought back to that night we were in Adam's room. I remember sensing another presence there. Sam and I decided not to tell anyone because that may worry them. So we only spoke of it at night when everyone was sleeping. After resting for one day, Adam woke up and was surprised to find himself on his bed. Sam and I were in his room watching him because it was our turn.

Shalimar, Jesse, Brennan, and Emma took turns watching yesterday. Adam asked us what happened and we told him he was training and he sparred a little with Sam. Then, he fainted and we brought him here. We also told him he was out the whole day yesterday and that everyone was in a way happy when they found out he fainted because he was finally getting some sleep.

Adam chuckled a little and said, "Why? Was I a little cranky?"

"No, but we all thought you needed some sleep because you were acting odd," replied Sam.

"Yeah, these few weeks you seemed different. We assumed that you were changing because lately, you haven't slept or even slept a little in these weeks," I said with a concerned tone.

"What do you do every night, Adam?" asked Sam who was becoming suspicious of Adam.

"Well, it is none of your damn business!" Adam replied with a smile.

"I think that maybe he goes around robbing houses!" I shouted, hoping it was true. "So, where do you hide all the money and jewels?"

"Probably under his bed!" shouted Sam. "That's why it's so bumpy and lumpy and he rolled off his bed."

"You were in my room?" asked Adam smiling.

"Uh, no," we said, looking up at the ceiling. "Why would we ever go into your room without your permission?"

"Uh, I don't know. Let me think," said Adam, pretending to be deep in thought. "What about for apparently no reason? But just for fun or seeing what I'm up to. Which you two love to do."

We gave him two guilty smiles and said, "What can we do? We're helpless to do anything against our deeds, it's just too tempting."

"Oh, well," said Adam, shrugging his shoulders. "You two have to watch what you do or you will get yourself in trouble. Oh, wait! You've already gotten into trouble before and now…..lots of times."


	12. Surprise!

Ever since the weird incident with Adam, we've been keeping an eye on him. There had been some more weird incidents where Adam seemed to have changed personalities. He could be nice and sweet one moment and mean and stern the next. We've tried asking him, but he always says everything was fine and nothing was wrong. We couldn't find anything wrong except the split personalities Adam keeps having.

Well, anyway, two new mutants were found at two different places of the world. Shalimar, Brennan, Emma and Jesse went on the mission on their own. Sam and I stayed at Sanctuary with Adam because they had enough people already. He had said," Oh no. Alone with them again."

We were going to have some fun. Probably play a prank on him. We started planning as soon as the others left. We went into his lab to find him hunched over some chemical and jars and glasses. We thought of some simple pranks but thought they weren't good enough. We told Adam that we needed help with something in Sam's room and told him to come with us. He agreed without asking any questions.

We went into Sam's room and then I turned around and said I left something at the lab. I went back to the lab and took his current experiment and put onto a different table. Then I hid his notes somewhere and left a note with a poem and some clues to find his things. Then as I turned around, I saw Adam standing at the door staring curiously at me. Sam sent me a mental message which freaked me out in the beginning of our friendship, but I was used to it by now. Sam asked me what was taking me so long and that Adam was getting impatient.

I frowned and thought 'But that can't be, Adam's standing at the door here in the lab.'

Sam sent me another message 'What are you talking about? Adam's right here.' Sam waited for a response but she didn't get one. So Sam sent another one 'Alex? Why aren't you responding? Adam has already fixed the light bulb we fried on purpose to get him out of the lab.'

Sam was getting worried and was confused about Adam being in the lab when he was in her room with her. Sam quickly told Adam everything but he wasn't surprised about the light bulb but didn't understand about him being in the lab. As I saw Sam and another Adam running towards the lab, I forgot everything that happened afterwards.


	13. Two Adams!

Sam's Point Of View 

As I ran towards the lab, I saw Alex with another Adam which confused me. Alex was standing as if she was under some trance. As Adam and I got closer, the other Adam started to run away and Alex followed him. As I was running closer, the Adam with Alex moved his hand and we ran into an invisible wall blocking us from entering the lab. That stopped the chase. Then, I looked at Adam for some sort of explanation. Adam, who seemed to know what was going on, told me to go to his room and he will explain.

"As you remember a few weeks back I was experimenting on a frog, right?" Adam said.

I nodded and told him to go on.

"I was trying to use chemical to clone the frogs. And it worked, I managed to clone the frog. When it was cloned, the original frog jumped onto me and some of the chemical landed on me. I thought there would not be any side effects. However, recently, I felt like there was two me in my head. Remember that night when you and Alex were in my room and I was on the floor, that was the night I split. You know how people has a good and a bad side. When for the frog when I thought I cloned it right, I really split it into two. One is good and one is bad. I believe that also happened to me but it affected me in a different way. Anyway, I didn't realize it until now," Adam explained.

"Let me guess. Your other self ended up with new mutant abilities and you didn't, right?" I said

"You are half right. He has new mutant powers. I believe he is elemental and psionic, but most of my knowledge stayed with me," Adam said with relief.

"He has powers like mine?!" I asked, surprised.

"Yes," replied Adam.

"Is there any way you can put yourself back together?" I asked hoping he will say yes.

"Yes, but…" Adam started.

"But what," I asked him. "You do have a plan, right?"

"Yes, I do but it isn't simple. First of all, I must get to my lab and make a cure. Second, I must make sure that there isn't any danger involved because remember, he has Alex. Third, we can't let them leave Sanctuary," Adam said very seriously.

"I'm sure I can break through his force field. However, I'm not sure I can get Alex back because I'm sure Evil Adam will be using her as a shield. And if I can't stop Alex, I can't prevent him from leaving Sanctuary. But what is he planning?" I said.

"You try and figure it out. He is the opposite of me and have practically unlimited powers," Adam said.

"I see. He will use his powers and try to create super humans to conquer the world," I said understanding what Adam was getting at. "Should we contact the others? I mean they can help."

"Don't count on it," Adam said with some worry in his voice.

"Why not," I asked.

"Even though he doesn't have much knowledge. He can probably guess what we plan to do. The only way is get him by doing things that no one including him will expect," Adam said.

With that said, Adam and I started working on a plan. First, I must somehow get Adam into his lab. While he finds a way to reverse this, I will distract Evil Adam and Alex and make sure that they don't leave Sanctuary. Once Adam is done, I will lure them back to the lab and reverse the effect. It sounds easy enough but like they always say "easier said than done."

snapped at Adam and I.


	14. The Plan Under Action

The plan was simple but the doing part was hard. Adam and I went to the force field and I blasted it with fire. I had to focus really hard and the flame was really intense. If Shalimar was here, I think I would have scared her since she's afraid of fire. But I think anyone would have been scared. Even Adam was scared. But he wasn't only scared though, I think he is actually afraid that I can destroy the world with my power. After burning the wall for about 10 minutes, the invisible wall finally shattered.

Adam and I entered the lab and he started working. I, of course, sat down for awhile and rested. Burning invisible walls isn't exactly easy. As a matter of fact, it took a lot out of me but I never showed any signs of weakness while Adam was there. I got right back up after a few minutes because I was afraid he might get worried.

I looked for Evil Adam and Alex around the lab while Adam worked on the cure. To my horror, I found a big hole in the wall. They had left the lab without us knowing and they could be anywhere right now. I hurried back to Adam and told him the bad news. Adam told me to search for them and not to worry about him. I disagreed because there would be no one to protect him, but I finally agreed in the end because he knew better and he had such a way with words. I realized that Adam could be very persuasive at times.

I didn't have to go look for Alex because she showed herself after a while, looking for me. "Hello," I said slowly, eyeing Alex suspiciously. "Look what we got here."

Alex only stared at me through her blank, lifeless eyes. Then she smiled and said, "Are you ready to die?"

I narrowed my eyes and chuckled to myself. "Boy, this must be how you would be when if you ever turned evil."

"Hmph." Alex smiled slyly. "Let's begin, shall we?"

"Uh, um, I don't want to hurt you," I said.

"Hurt me?" Alex asked, amused. "Trust me, you won't even be able to get near me."

Then, Alex ran straight towards me. I saw her heading towards me, so I fired a fireball at her, but she dodged it easily and landed on her feet. Her eyes glowed a neon green and I think she snarled at me. I stared uneasily at her, not from fear but because I had to fight my best friend. I was reluctant to fight her, so I decided to defend myself as well as I can without hurting Alex.

She charged at me again with her fist ready to hit me. I froze the ground under her and she slipped. She got up quickly, frustrated and angry. Alex jumped up and punched my face before I could block her. I staggered backwards from the force of the punch and refocused my attention on her. She charged towards me again and kept throwing punches. I blocked every punch and used my leg to trip her. Then I froze her to the ground.

Alex transformed into Jesse and phased through the ice. Then she transformed into Brennan and kept firing bolts of lightning at me. I kept dodging them and backing up. Finally, I reached the lab and went inside. Alex followed me in. We found Adam inside, whose head jerked up at the sound of our entrance. Alex smiled evilly at me and fired bigger bolts of lightning at me. Alex obviously enjoyed the game of cat-and-mouse.

Alex fired some bolts of lightning at Adam to try and hurt him and keep him where he was. She missed but turned her attention back to me and changed into Shalimar. She threw hard kicks and punches at me. They were getting harder and harder to block. I had weakened considerably from all the attacks I encountered and was getting weaker by the second.

Adam was torn between what he should do and I saw it on his face. Should he help me or continue to find the cure? I groaned as another punch was aimed at me.

"Adam!" I shouted. "Don't worry… about me! I can handle it! Keep trying to find….the cure!"

"Yeah!" Alex leered. "Keep doing that, Adam! You think you're so smart!"

Alex turned into me and giggled. "Ooh…." she said. "Look who I am?"

She looked at me and directed more attacks at me. She fired sharp shards of ice at me, but Adam jumped in front of me and shielded me. He cried out in pain as the ice cut through his clothes and into his skin. He started bleeding from the wounds but didn't show any signs of giving up. He put his hand on one of the large cuts on his arm and tried to stop it from bleeding so much. He ripped some material from his shirt and tried to tie it around his arm over the cut. Seeing how much difficulty he had with it, I helped him.

I watched Alex change back into herself. I felt rage and hatred boil inside of me. I could stand it no longer.

"Ahhh!!! I will not let you get away with this!"

I charged toward Alex and let all my rage, anger and hatred loose. I couldn't just step aside while someone I loved got hurt. I shot blazing fireballs at Alex who was unaware that I might hurt her badly because she thought I'd never hurt her. I also shot ice at her in the shape of sharp knives. The attacks pierced her from behind because she had turned around, examining some bruises on her arm.

She turned back around to face me, angry and in pain. I unleashed all my fury into my attacks. I fired more attacks at her as she tried to block them. She couldn't. And I was satisfied, but kept firing at her. I was blinded by my fury. I heard Alex cry out in pain but I couldn't stop. It was as if I couldn't control my own hand. Adam tried to stop me. But I didn't let him.

"Stop, Sam! You're going to kill her at this rate! You're going to regret it! She's not Alex right now! Stop!"

"DON'T……TRY….TO……STOP……ME, ADAM!"

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark figure flash past me. I paid not much attention to it, but when I focused my attention on Alex again. To my surprise, Adam was in front of her blocking my attacks, trying to help Alex.

No, wait, that's evil Adam, I realized. Then, why is he protecting Alex, isn't he evil? I yelled towards and asked Adam, asking him why Evil Adam was protecting Alex, since he was evil and cared about no one.

Adam answered, "He is evil, but he _is_ the evil part of _me_. He has my maternal instincts and they tell him to protect the ones he cares. And right now, he cares about Alex."

"Wow, is that why you protecting me when she was attacking me?" Alex asked teary-eyed. It was apparent that Evil Adam's control over her was slowing weakening. "I had no idea that you cared about me."

"Uh…….no," replied Evil Adam embarrassed. "Whatever. That goody-goody Adam has no idea what he's talking about."

"Oh, yes I do!" replied Adam sharply. "You didn't want to help her, but your instincts made you help her."

"Whatever," said Evil Adam again. "You think you're so smart!"

Adam and I stared at each other in amusement when we heard what Evil Adam said. "Wow, you'd think they were father-and-daughter by what they think and say."

"Well, the same goes for you two!" Evil Adam and Alex snapped at Adam and I.


	15. One, Two, Three, Argue! No, Wait! Fight!

Everyone started arguing instead of fighting. Then, we noticed that the Adams were fading.

"Uh, Adams," I said. "Please tell me that you have powers to turn invisible or something. Because if not, then there's something seriously wrong with you. Just look."

"Uh, okay." The Adams looked at their hands and yelled in surprise. "What's happening to us?"

" I think I know," Alex said. "Uh, maybe you're fading!"

"Oh, no," said Adam. "This must be one of the side-effects of the cloning process."

"What are you talking about?" asked Evil Adam.

"When I cloned the frogs, after a week, they started fading too. And if I didn't reverse the cloning process, they would die," said Adam.

"So, you're telling me that I'm going to die, Grim Reaper?" asked Evil Adam. "You brought this onto yourself. I blame you. It's all your fault."

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

"Enough!" I yelled. "You're acting like little kids. But you're both older than Alex and I!"

The two Adams looked at us embarrassed.

"Now!" said Alex. "Good Adam, um, which ever one you are, go reverse the cloning process. Only, you know how to do it."

"I can't do it myself! You know because of a someone who injured me quite badly," Adam said. "Adam, you and I must work together.

"Fine, I will," said Evil Adam

"And you! Evil Adam!" I said. "Free your control over Alex, since it's not very strong and not necessary anymore."

"Well, alright." Evil Adam was reluctant, but did it. He waved his hand at Alex and she was free.


	16. Working Together

Alex's Point Of View 

"Oh, whoa!" I said, my mind clear again and it was easier to think and make my own decisions. "What happened………….? Oh, wait, I remember!"

I turned to Evil Adam and said, "You jerk! What the hell were you thinking?!"

Evil Adam had a look of uneasiness. "Uh, sorry?"

"No, that won't cut it! From now on, you'll do whatever _I_ say!" I yelled.

"Um, Alex?" said Sam. "The Adams don't have much time before they die. You see, they're fading."

"Oh, well… whatever!" I said. "Let the evil Adam die but save the good one!"

"That's not possible, because Adam split into two. They're both Adam, they need each other in order to live. They have to become one."

"Oh, well…..too bad the evil Adam can't just _die _!"

"Wow, you better do something about reversing the cloning process," Sam whispered to Adam. "Because if you two don't become one soon, Alex will kill your evil side herself."

"You got that right!" I shouted at Sam and Adam.

"Uh, yeah, you're right," said Adam. "Why don't you take Alex for a walk or something, so I'll be safer."

"But what if something happened to you while we're outside? asked Sam. "What if Evil Adam murdered you or something?"

"He can't do that, because he'll die, too," answered Adam.

"Oh yeah," Sam said. "Okay, I'll do it."

Sam dragged a screaming and swearing me outside. She had a pretty hard time trying to get me outside without me scratching her eyes out.

"ADAM, YOU OWE ME BIG TIME!" Sam yelled into her com-link at Adam.

"What are you talking about?" Adam asked.

"WELL, YOU'LL KNOW ONCE YOU SEE MY FACE AND ARMS FULL OF SCRATCHES AND BRUISES! I THINK I WAS LESS INJURED WHEN I WAS FIGHTING HER!"

When she finally got me outside, I was already exhausted with all my screaming, shouting and struggling. Then, I looked over at Sam tiredly and smiled nervously.

"Oh, you know I forgive you for nearly killing me," I said, smiling nervously again.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO ASK ME FOR _MY_ FORGIVENESS! TWICE!" Sam said.

"I'm really, really sorry!" I whined. "You do forgive me, right?"

Sam stood there for a long time and seemed to be deep in thought. I waited patiently while she talked and muttered stuff to herself. After five minutes, I was getting impatient, so I left her standing there by herself.

"I don't need her forgiveness," I muttered to myself. "After all that happened to me!"

As I started to walk away, I heard Adam say something over the com-limk. I guess he heard me ask Sam for her forgiveness.

"Sam, you should forgive her," said Adam. "Remember she was under my, uh I mean Evil Adam's control."

Then, I started to wonder which Adam it was.

"Alex, I forgive you and I am sorry if I hurt you earlier," Sam said sincerely.

Sam and I started to walk around Sanctuary and since it was so large, it took hours to explore. We ran toward the lab when Adam called us. He probably found the cure.

As we entered the lab, the Adams were barely visible. Their bodies were almost invisible and only their heads were there. We realized that they had very little time left. Good Adam told us that they had only one hour before they disappeared completely. They couldn't make the cure because their arms and hands have disappeared. Adam told us that they had figured out the fomula but they couldn't make it. We would have to make it following his instructions.

After 45 minutes, we were done and we were satified. We let the Adams drink. And nothing happened. We waited and it still didn't work. So we tried it again.

"It better work this time because if not, Adam will be dead for good," said Sam.

"Well, good for Evil Adam, but then…. bad for Good Adam," I said. "Is there a way to save Good Adam and let Evil Adam die?"

"What!!!" Evil Adam shouted. "So, this is what I get after protecting you?!"

"You didn't mean to help me!" I shouted back at him.

"Hey, you heard what Adam said," Evil Adam replied extremely loud. "It was my instincts, so I did mean it!"

Everyone gasped at what Evil Adam said and they said, "Oh wow. You meant it?!"

"Um, well, maybe, a little, okay I meant it!" he shouted. "Happy now?!"

"So, it was you who asked me to forgive her?" asked Sam.

"Well, it wasn't me," said the Good Adam.

"So, it was you!" Sam said, astonished. "You do have some concern for Alex!!! Which means you do have a heart!"

Then the potion started taking effect and just in time, too. Adam had only 5 seconds to live before the potion took effect. The two Adams started moving towards each together and they merged into one.

Finally, one Adam appeared and he was solid again. I stepped in front of him and started poking Adam. Sam and Adam watched me like I had gone crazy.

"Ahh!" I gave a squeal of delight. "You're you again!"

"Um, of course I'm me," Adam smiled. Sam and I gave him a huge hug and he hugged us back.

Then we stepped back and smiled at him. But he was shocked when he saw Sam's scratches and bruises. I think he understood why Sam yelled at him and said he owed her big time. Then Adam made Sam stay in the lab while he checked over her wounds. Since I had molecular powers, I changed into someone who could heal himself and then healed myself. Yay!


	17. Wow, What Happened Here, Again?

At the same time, the others came back. They came back really happy because they had succeeded in their mission. But, they stopped when they saw that the Sanctuary was wrecked. They went looking for us because they became worried thinking maybe Genomax broke in and killed us.

They saw me snoozing on the couch and thought I was dead. They ran toward me. Brennan picked me up and shook me, but I was a heavy sleeper so I didn't even stir. They thought I was dead, since I was covered in wounds and injuries. They heard Shalimar scream, so with Brennan carrying me, they ran towards the scream. Shalimar found Sam on the lab chair, also covered wounds and injuries. They tried to wake Sam up, but Sam was too exhausted, so she didn't stir, too.

Jesse carried Sam and they went in search for Adam. They panicked. They found Adam asleep at his computer, but thought he was dead, too.

"No…." Emma whispered. "We shouldn't have left them here!"

They didn't notice Sam open her eyes sleepily and say, "Shouldn't leave who here?"

Everyone jumped at Sam's voice and assured themselves that they didn't hear Sam say anything. Sam was asleep again when they saw her, so they still thought everyone was dead.

Then, I lifted my hand to my mouth and yawned. Jesse froze when he saw me move. I fell back asleep again. "Um, guys?" said Jesse. "I don't think they're dead. They're asleep!"

"Huh?!" Everyone watched us carefully. Emma checked our pulses and beamed.

"Nope, they're not dead!" Emma confirmed. "But, what happened here?"

"Hmm," Brennan said thoughtfully. "You don't think the trouble-makers did this, do you? If they did, then I feel very sorry for Adam. Look at him, he's exhausted. They're all exhausted."

"We'll find out in the morning," said Shalimar yawning. "I'm pretty tired too."

Everyone agreed. Brennan carried me to my room and tucked me in. Jesse carried Sam and tucked her in. Shalimar and Emma carried Adam to his room and tucked him in. After they did that, they went to bed. Everyone fell asleep as soon as their heads touched their pillows.

I had very weird dreams that night. I dreamt that Adam ran away from Sanctuary and Emma fell in love with Mason Eckhart. I also dreamt that Shalimar hated Brennan really much and hired someone to murder Brennan. There was also a dream where Mason Eckhart had a daughter and Jesse worked for Genomex. What's also weird about that dream was that Jesse fell in love with Eckhart's daughter and they got married.

I woke up drenched in sweat from the nightmares. I didn't know that nightmares could be so terrifying and stupid. "Nightmares are supposed to have limits!" I said out loud.

I got out of bed and took a shower. It was already three in the morning and I couldn't go back to sleep. I crept into Jesse's room and sat beside his bed watching him sleep. I watched his chest rise and fall softly while he slept. I fell asleep while watching him.

In the morning, Jesse woke up. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, and thought he saw someone in the chair beside his bed. He looked closer and frowned in confusion.

"Alex?" he said sleepily. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" I said, rubbing my eyes. "Um, oh, I must have fell asleep when I was watching you."

"Watching me? Why?" Jesse asked confused.

"I couldn't go back to sleep after my weird dreams and I came in here."

I told Jesse about my dreams. Jesse's expressions on his face changed a lot throughout the stories. From surprised to shock, from shocked to astonished, from astonished to amused, from amused to disbelief and so on.

"Whoa, that would never happen in a million years!" Jesse said after I told him everything. He had laughed, chuckled and smiled throughout the stories.

"Yeah," I agreed.

When everyone was awake, Adam, Sam and I told them the whole story about his clone, me going evil, me nearly killing Sam and Adam, and Sam nearly killing me and the other Adam. And how everyone was so injured. They couldn't believe they never suspected there was another Adam in the Sanctuary all that time. They told us about their mission and about how when they came home, they thought we were all dead. Then Jesse made me tell everyone my weird dreams.

We all had a good time listening to our wild adventures. They were relieved when they learned we actually cared about people, or specifically Adam. They were proud of us, but we couldn't take the mushy stuff and only said 'yeah' and 'whatever.'


	18. Boredom Leads to…Pranks?

Today, I woke up. I changed and went into the kitchen without fixing my hair. I walked sleepily into the kitchen like a zombie, walked past Adam, Shalimar and Emma and towards the coffee pot. They watched me approach the coffee. I walked and acted like a zombie. They looked at Adam and Adam shrugged his shoulders. I took out two mugs and poured two steaming mugs of coffee. Then again like a zombie, I walked out of the kitchen clutching the two mugs of precious coffee in my hands.

I walked to the couch where Sam was waiting. I smiled and said, "I got it."

"You think they're going to let us drink coffee tomorrow?" asked Sam sipping some of her coffee.

"Probably not," I answered. "But we'll try."

We finished the coffee and went to the dojo to do some punching and kicking. After an hour or so, we stopped because Sam was complaining that she was bored to death. But I think it was because her wounds were starting to hurt again. However, I was getting bored anyway so we stopped and thought about what to do next.

"Why don't we have something to eat," Sam said. "If you remember, I am a very good cook."

"No way. The last time you cooked, you literally destroyed the kitchen and I don't think Adam will be too pleased if that happened again," I said mischievously.

"Well, why don't you think of something," Sam replied. "Still, I'm good at making pies.

"Yeah, burnt pies!" I said laughing.

"Why, you!!!" Sam yelled at me.

Sam chased me around Sanctuary, which gave us something to do.

After a good run, I decided to take a shower. After my shower, Sam said she had a great idea. She wanted to pull some pranks on the others. I thought it was a good idea except for the getting into trouble part. I had to weigh out my options. Pull pranks and get into trouble or do nothing. It wasn't a hard decision because I hated boredom. We wanted to pull a prank on everyone and each one must be different.


	19. First Victim: Jesse Kilmartin

We started with Jesse because he was the most naive one, and the most cute and adorable one in my opinion. We knew he loved to be neat. That was the perfect way to get him. He hated and couldn't stand messes.

Sam and I went to his room when he and the others, excluding Adam, went to a club. They said we were too young to go and Adam never goes out. Again we were stuck with one of the most boring guys in the world. I don't think Adam was too thrilled either.

Adam isn't very social and rarely goes out. He stays in his lab all the time, like I said, 'very boring.' Since Adam is in his lab, we went or should I say 'snuck into Jesse's room.' Our rooms weren't exactly clean so it was easy to mess Jesse's room without making it look like we search through his things. All went well.

When they got back, they all went to their rooms. As soon as they reached their rooms, we heard a loud scream from Jesse and everyone ran into Jesse's room. The expressions on everyone's face when they saw Jesse's room were priceless.

Adam was shocked because he knew that Jesse wasn't like that. Brennan was amused because he thought Jesse screamed like a girl and I kind of agree. Shalimar was disappointed because she and he have the cleanest room and they always compared. Emma was confused because she knew it wasn't Jesse who did it and wondered who did. After watching Jesse put everything back in order which wasn't very long, everyone sat down in the living room.

Surprisingly they all stared at us and Adam said, "Have you guys got nothing better to do?"

"What did we do?" I replied innocently.

"I can't believe you can be so mean. You not only trashed my room but you trashed my trust in you guys," Jesse painfully said.

"Jesse, we are very sorry and we didn't mean any harm," we replied with sincerity.

"Aha," exclaimed Emma, "so it was you two."

"Who did you expect? Adam?" Sam asked. "I mean he never plays any pranks. And there was no one else here."

"True. I wouldn't never do that. But how would you know I won't pull pranks?" Adam asked.

"That's easy. Because you are one of the most boring guys I know that you have no sense of humor," I said seriously and the others started to giggle.

"How would you know I have no sense of humor?" Adam said, trying to make us stop.

"You have been a victim of our pranks and everytime we end up with trouble and lots of it, too. But there is never any laughs," Sam said, remembering all those time we got into trouble.

"Fair enough, your agruement somehow convinced me not to punish you. But I won't punish you but if Jesse wants to, he can," Adam said knowing he was defeated by two teenagers. I guess Sam and I also have a way with words as well.

Then we gave Jesse our best puppy dog eyes and it worked.

"It's okay. I was actually able to clean my room. I enjoyed it since I haven't cleaned my room in such a long time," said Jesse matter-of-factly.


	20. Second Victim: Shalimar Fox

After Jesse's prank, we went and figured out who we wanted next. Then all of a sudden, Shalimar popped in at the door and told us to go to sleep. I didn't think they cared for curfew because Adam never did. Once we went out until 4:00 a.m., Adam didn't even care. Or maybe it was because we were too sneaky and he never found out.

We agreed it was going to be Shalimar. We knew she washed her hair every morning and that was perfect for our prank. At night, once everyone was asleep, except for Adam who I believe is some sort of robot because he never seemed to sleep, we went into Shalimar's bathroom. We each had a separate bathroom. We took her shampoo and poured most of it down the sink and then mixed the remainder with super glue.

The next morning, we heard Shalimar take her regular shower and then she rushed out wrapped in a towel. Her hands were stuck to her hair and she ran towards Adam's lab and she screamed something that I'm sure we _little_ kids weren't supposed to hear. Ten minutes later, she returned to her room and put on some clothes, then started to look for something. I had a feeling she wasn't looking for something but someone or _someones _should be more precise

We hide until we thought we were safe. But then it was as if she saw us and started running our way. We were chased by Shalimar and we knew she shouldn't catch us or we were doomed. So Sam suggested we find Adam because he will stop Shalimar and protect us if necessary. I hope Adam will because Shalimar was furious and very close.

When we entered the lab, Adam noticed we were very tired and asked us what happened. I told him everything and pled for his help.

He smiled and said,"You are on your own. Oh, and remember try not to break anything."

"What I can't believe this! You of all people refused to help us. We saved your life," I replied angrily, trying to make him feel guilty.

"First of all, what do you mean 'you of all people.' If I don't like to help, I can choose not to. Second, you didn't save my life. You nearly took my life," Adam said defending himself.

"Whatever, it's not like we really need your help. Oh, and the next time you are in any danger, remember not to call us!" I shouted back.

While we were shouting at each other, Sam and I forgot about Shalimar who was standing by the door. We were trapped and Shalimar was about to pounce on us. We covered our eyes when we saw Shalimar's eyes glow with anger and we whimpered a little.

"Don't hurt us, please," we said. "Calm down, pussy cat."

"Stop, Shalimar!" shouted Adam. "Leave them alone!"

Immediately, she stopped as if Adam was her master. We relaxed after Adam told her to stop. We knew Adam wouldn't let us down. But then we realized the joke was on us. They had burst out laughing the minute they saw us relax and look relieved. That told them that their plan worked, the whole thing was a setup to scare Sam and I.

We stared at them angrily and Adam noticed that we were upset and laughed even harder. Adam told that us was how he felt when we pulled the Gabriel Ashlocke prank on him. He was a little frightened and angry. Furious, we walked out of the room.

At first, I thought about not to pull a prank on Adam because he was always our victim. We felt bad for him so we agreed skip him because no one pulls pranks on him but us. But now his prank will be the worst and the last because he humiliated us.


	21. Third Victim: Brennan Mulrway

After that, we were more cautious and more stealthy. Brennan was next and we didn't know what to do. We don't know much about him except the fact he was a thief. So we decided to spy on him for a while. I spied on him while Sam was taking notes. Even then we didn't learn much. But a little information was enough. Brennan always trains with the robots at the dojo whenever he has free time and that is when we will strike. Brennan is very proud of his abities and humiliating him would be simple and a great prank.

That afternoon, Brennan, as usual, was training and we waited until he was done. Once he left, we made sure no one was at the dojo and I stood by the door watching for anyone. Sam went in and made some adjustments. She made a remote control that controlled the robots' level. Brennan trains by fighting these robots and we planned to sabotage his training and have the robots whip him.

On the next day, as we had predicted, Brennan was training. We stayed in the air. Sam had made a ice platform connecting to the the second floor taking us into the middle of the air. From there, we had an excellent view of Brennan and was able to control the robots.

As usual, Brennan set it at easy. He like working from the bottom up. Slowly, Sam increased the robots' fighting level. Brennan didn't seem to notice. We increased the level more rapidly. Brennan still didn't notice.

We increased to a level higher than what Brennan fights at. Brennan thought they were getting stronger and he liked it. The more he fought, the harder they got. Finally, the robots overwhelmed him. Like we predicted, he tried to call for help. Sam had disabled his com-link ring so he had no help. He tried to fight them but they were too powerful. When we thought he had enough, Sam shut them off.

He looked releif and angry at the same time. And then he stormed off to Adam's lab.

"ADAM!" yelled Brennan. "There's something wrong with your stupid $$ robots! I nearly got killed in there!"

Then we realized he thought it was Adam's fault. We didn't care if Brennan was angry at Adam for something he didn't do, he deserved it after the way he treated us. I almost wished Brennan would hurt Adam but then a part of me felt sorry for Adam. I had a feeling Sam felt the same way.

As we got closer to the lab, we heard Adam shut the door, he was afraid we might hear something we weren't suppose to hear, _again_. We tried to listen through the door but it was too thick. I think the room was sound-proof. Then we heard glass tubes breaking and Adam screaming in pain.

I was horrified at what I had done. Adam was hurt because of me. Then, I looked over at Sam. She seemed unaffected by this, so I asked her why.

"Sam, I can't believe what we had done!" I said.

"This is what Adam deserves. I don't feel sorry for him at all," she answered.

"How can you be so cruel and heartless?" I asked.

"I guess I don't have sympathy like you. I mean you can't stand Adam being yelled at because we had done something wrong," she said and I looked at her surprised.

"What do you mean yelled at? Brennan is hurting him, isn't he?" I asked kind of unsure myself.

"No way, Brennan would never hurt Adam. And what gave you that idea?" she asked.

"I heard glass tubes breaking and Adam screaming," I responded.

"You got it all wrong. Brennan rushed into the lab and knocked over some test tubes. And for Adam, he was picking up the broken tubes and cut himself. Does that explain everything?" she asked.

"Yes. But how did you know?" I asked.

"I am a psionic and I can see through other people's eyes and I saw through Adam's eyes," she said.

After a while, Brennan came out, calmly. Again, Brennan stared at us like everyone stared at us after Jesse's incident. We asked him what happened. He said the robots malfunctioned and they nearly killed him. He needed a talk with Adam about them. I guess he didn't think it was us at all. And then Adam called us and Brennan to see him.

He told us that the robots malfunction wasn't a malfunction. It was a sabtoage and he said it was done by someone in Sanctuary. Then Adam stared at the two of us and said it was done by a computer expert and it was a clever plan. With that said, we couldn't help but say it was us. Then we realized that was a mistake. Then as usual, Adam punished us with washing the dishes for a week. With that said, Operation Brennan was complete.


	22. Fourth Victim: Emma DeLauro

Three down, two to go. Emma was our next victim because Adam was saved for last. Although, Emma didn't do anything to us but we wanted to prank everyone and Emma was no exception. Since we couldn't think of anything really good, we looked through some prank books and websites. Then, we found one which was pretty good and simple. We were going to draw on Emma's face while she was asleep and the next morning would be a nightmare for her. It was simple and great. When our punishment was over, we decided it was about time to get her.

It seems that Emma kind of sensed that something was up. We decided the time wasn't now. If Emma realizes it, the prank will be a failure and we won't tolerate faliure. First, we must convinced Emma that we weren't up to no good. That we had learned our lesson. We had to fool her for now and strike later.

After a whole week and it was a long week, we had finally convinced Emma that we were good. Our chance to strike finally revealed itself. That very night, Sam and I snuck into Emma's room and it wasn't easy. Because Emma can sense emotion while she's sleeping. We had to control our emotion. We had to be not too excited, happy, or scared. Any of those emotions can wake her.

We then drew on her face, making a black curly mustache, red circles on her cheeks, brown dots on her cheeks, chin, and nose with a couple of big red dots on her nose. Next, were lines near her eyes to make her look old. We also put a fresh layer of purple lipstick on her lips mixed with some blue and gold and yellow. Then we left quickly.

Just then, Adam was in the corridor checking on everyone. We had to get to our rooms before Adam and he must not see us. Luckily, Adam didn't have any powers so he couldn't sense us. Also the lights were turned off because Adam didn't want to wake anyone.

I transformed into Jesse and phased the wall and we entered the next room. Adam was getting closer to our rooms every minute. Unfortunately, Sam's room is across the corridor. Somehow she and I must cross the corridor while Adam is checking. I phased the wall in another room and we were still one room ahead of Adam.

Sam said she could project an image into Adam's mind to distract him but that may scare Adam. That was a risk we had to take. Sam will project the image while I phased the wall so Sam could enter. As Adam walked closer, Adam thought he was in a dark cave and there was no light. And then when Sam had gotten into her room safely, Sam slowly transformed the image of the dark cave into Sanctuary.

Sam made him think his eyes were playing tricks on him. We successfully returned to our rooms safely. That was a close call but that is what makes being sneaky and stealthy so exciting. I wondered if Adam will realize it was our doing. He will probably piece it together tomorrow. Just then Adam came on and I giggled softly.

The next morning, we heard a scream and we all rushed into Emma's room. She looked funnier than it was in the dark. Emma was crying and Adam was comforting her. We all could see Brennan trying really hard not to laugh. And he couldn't help it and busted into laughter and everyone else started to laugh including Emma.

I guess she thought it was funny. For once, they enjoyed the pranks. I wonder if Adam will punish us this time. Because Mutant X needed a good laugh. Here in Sanctuary, it is usually very serious and there is no time for jokes. Surprisingly, nobody said anything and it was left that way. Adam never punished us and that was another shocker.


	23. The Last But Not Least: Adam Kane

Adam was the last but not least. We wanted revenge but not too serious. It had to be something original and unexpected. Also, it must be very painful and hits him where it hurts most without hurting him physically because he went through pretty much already. We thought the only way to prank Adam without him knowing was through his dreams because dreams couldn't be proven. We decided to strike in Adam's dreams. That way we won't get into trouble and Adam will be asleep.

One night, Adam came around to check on everyone. When Sam realized that, she sent me a mental message telling me that Adam had went to her room and was coming to mine. I phased the wall and she came in. Sam could make Adam fall asleep by using her mind to hypnotize him but I had to make sure he didn't realize that.

As Adam opened the door slowly, Sam started to focus on Adam while I twisted and turned on my bed pretending that I was having a nightmare. Adam, as usual, came over and tried to comfort me. While he tried to do that, Sam gently blasted him with a mental sleeping pill. And Adam fell asleep like a baby.

With that done, Sam and I carried Adam off to bed. When we got to his bed, he sounded as if he was about to wake. So Sam blasted him lightly again but it was a little more powerful. We didn't want Adam waking up in the middle of our operation.

Once on his bed, Sam placed her hand on Adam's forehand. She told me earlier that when she did this, she could go into someone's mind. So when they are asleep, she can see their dreams. Sam went into Adam's dreams.

I was going to provide the nightmare because when she is in there she can feel what Adam feels only. But with me on the outside, Sam can create those images in Adam's dreams. Also, no one can disturb Adam or Sam at this point because it is very dangerous. Sam never does this unless it is necessary. Because if she or Adam were to be disturbed, she will be trapped in Adam's mind and be unable to get out. Her body will be mindless.

So as she entered his dreams, I closed the door so no one will disturb them. When Sam give me the signal, I started whispering things to Sam's ear. I said things that would upset, scare and give Adam nightmares. Sam told me that it was working and I knew it was because Adam started to sweat and looked scared. After a while, I heard something and told Sam to return. After a couple of second, Sam's mindless body seemed to be filled with life again. Sam and I quickly return to our rooms and slept hoping Adam was scared enough.


	24. Hot, Hot, And Burning

The next morning, Adam had called the two of us to his lab. I heard and walked towards Adam's lab. I thought Sam would want to walk with me but I didn't feel like waiting for her. So I went to the lab without her. When I got there, Adam asked me where Sam was. I told him I didn't know. So he called Sam again. There was no response which was weird because Sam never woke up late, no matter what time she slept. She always wake up early. Adam and I went to her room to check on her. Surprisingly, there she was still sleeping. But we found her on the floor and sweating. It seemed that she had a nightmare and rolled off the bed. Adam and I lifted her up and placed her on her bed and let her sleep.

Later that day, it was past noon and Sam was still asleep. So I went to check on her. This time she was twisting and turning on her bed. I went and felt her forehead and found out that it was burning hot.

Right away, I called Adam on my com-link and immediately he rushed to Sam's room. He stuck a thermometer in Sam's mouth and it measured a fever of 110 degrees. Immediately, Adam rushed her into his lab and tried to find a way to cool her down. Since she had fire abilities, her fever was raising higher and higher every minutes.

Unless Adam could find a way to cool her down, Sam could die. However, having ice abilities helped her cool off but it isn't enough. The ice abilities only slowed the fever down. Sam stayed in the lab for hours and Adam was in there for hours too, trying to help her.

At some point, I thought I heard Adam yell because he was burnt. Still, he stayed in there to help her. In the lab, the air condition was at its highest because Sam's fever filled the room with heat. No matter how unbearable it got, Adam was still in there. Adam was very determined to save Sam. I guess he feels that it was his job as a father to take care his sick daughter.

Finally, Adam managed to stop the fever from raising and he let her ice abities kick in and cool her off. When he sighed in relief, Adam fell asleep in front of his computer. I guess Adam didn't realize how tired he really was until now.

It was at night when the lab doors opened and we found Adam sleeping along with Sam. We decided not to disturb Adam and Sam because they are probably really tired. And let them both sleep until they wake. Emma got a blanket and placed it on Adam. Brennan said it was a long day and we all should get some rest. With that we all went to our rooms and fell asleep.


	25. The Morning After The Fever

Sam's Point of View 

As I opened my eyes, I realized that I wasn't in my room and there was someone snoring near me. My vision was blurred. Finally, my eyes cleared and I could see clearly again. I realized I was in Adam's lab and there was person who was snoring and still sleeping. That person was Adam which was kind of obvious because I was in his lab.

I tried to get up but that was stupid because that woke Adam. I didn't realize when I got up I would make such a racket. When Adam saw me up, he was relieved. And then I tried to remember what happened. But it was hard because my head hurt like crazy as if a car or something heavy had run over it 1000 times. Adam told me not to get up and I listened because I had no choice. My body was extremely exhausted and refused to cooperate.

Adam ran some test and looked relieved again. I wondered why. Then I asked him what happened and why my body was so tired and it felt like a truck had ran over me 1000 times. Adam chuckled a little and was glad I was me again.

"You had a really high fever and it was out of control. It almost killed you," he said remembering last night.

"So how did you save me from a visit with the Grim Reaper?" I asked, eager to find out.

"I managed to stop the fever from raising and your ice abities did the rest," Adam responded.

"Okay, second question, did I, by any chance, say anything you aren't supposed to know?" I asked hoping I didn't tell him our revenge plot.

"If you mean, giving me nightmare. The answer is yes. But I forgive because I was going to ask you about it before you were sick," Adam replied with a smile.

I know Alex is going to kill me, I thought. Since the fever didn't, I know she will for blowing our little plot.

"Third question, how long was I out for?" I asked.

"You were out all day yesterday and all morning today," Adam answered.

"Final question. How long will I have to stay here?" I asked wishing it won't be long.

"You can leave but only if you promise me that you will rest and take it easy," Adam said. "Also, I want you to come later so I can run some more tests. And If I find out that you are not resting, you will be here for a long time. He said it in his "I'm not kidding around" voice.

"Yeah, I promise. And I will come back. Now, can I go?" I said eager to leave the lab.

"Yes," Adam said flatly as he looked over some previous test results.

With that, I slowly walked to the door. But when I almost reached the door, my legs failed me and almost collapsed on the floor if Adam didn't catch me. And then, Adam helped me walk to my room.

Once he tucked me in, I said, "Good Night."

Adam smiled and replied, "Good Night."

With that, Adam turned off the light and closed my door. And I drifted off to sleep.


	26. Oops!

Alex's Point Of View 

This morning when we woke up, Sam and I decided to drink some coffee if Adam let us or even if he didn't let us. Sam went to sit on the couch and I transformed into Shalimar. I walked casually towards the kitchen but was stopped by Brennan on the way. He looked at me with a guilty look on his face and pulled me aside to talk. He talked with a note of urgency in his voice. I was afraid of him finding out that it was really me instead of Shalimar, so I tried to get away but he mistook that for me being mad at him.

"Shalimar," Brennan said pleadingly. "Please, don't go yet. I really need to talk you badly."

"Brennan," I said. "What's so important that it can't wait until later?"

"Please, Shalimar," he pleaded again. "Don't be mad about what I said last night."

"You said something to me last ni…….?" I trailed off. "Oh! Oh yeah. Of course! Well, um, uh, I-I'm not mad about whatever you said." Then I laughed nervously.

"You're not?" Brennan asked relieved, then he shook his head and said, "Of course you are mad. What I said last night could hurt anyone's feelings. You don't have to act tough."

"No, really," I said, without a clue of what I was talking about. "It's okay."

"Well, thanks for forgiving me," smiled Brennan.

"You're welcome."

As I turned to leave him, he pulled me back again. "Uh, Shalimar?"

"Yes?"

"I have to tell you the truth," he said. "You were brave enough to tell me but I wasn't." Then he said in a very nervous and kind of shy voice, "I-I l-love you, too."

I was shocked. I felt like I've been hit in the face with the full force of a wrestler. My jaw was dropped and I blushed furiously. No one has ever said that to me and I realized no one still has ever said that to me because I was Shalimar right now. I straightened up and cleared my throat, then tried to think of something to say. I knew I shouldn't be the person listening to this, it should be the real Shalimar.

I looked at Brennan uneasily and avoided looking in his eyes. I smiled nervously again and started to back away.

"Um, uh, I-I think I should just go and see what Adam is up to," I said and laughed softly to myself. What I have just learned was big news, but I still had a problem. Shalimar needed to hear what Brennan said. I knew Brennan was watching me walk away, so I transformed back into myself for him to see.

When I had done that, I heard a groan from Brennan and then a grunt of frustration and anger. I quickened my footsteps towards Adam's lab when I heard some pounding footsteps following me. I could tell that they were Brennan's and they didn't sound very friendly. I walked into Adam's room and saw Adam hunched over some folders in front of him. I walked quickly over to him and grabbed his back.

"Please protect me, Adam!" I whimpered. "Brennan's going to kill me!" I told Adam that Brennan had told me something that none of us were supposed to hear or know about when I was Shalimar. In case Adam got angry, I sniffled a little and told him that all Sam and I wanted was some coffee. I didn't mean to find out the secrets that I did find out. But I refused to tell Adam what I had learned and he didn't pressure me to.

"ADAM!" yelled Brennan when he was in the lab staring at me hiding behind Adam. "You got to put those two trouble-makers behind bars or something!"

"Now, now, Brennan," said Adam. "Calm down."

Brennan kept his eyes on me even though when he sat down in the chair Adam offered him. Then, Adam crossed his arms and turned his attention on Brennan. "Adam!" Brennan complained. "You really have to do something about those two."

"So, what did you tell Alex that's so important?" Adam asked seriously with a hidden smile. "_Do you want to tell me_?"

"Uh, no. There's nothing to tell," said Brennan flatly.

"Yeahhhh," I said rolling my eyes. "You're right, Brennan. There's nothing to tell about your love for Shalimar. Oops! did I said that out loud?"

"Yes, you did!!! And now you're going to pay!" Brennan yelled. "I can't believe you told him!"

Then, Brennan started chasing me around Adam's lab, trying to zap me me with little bolts of lightning. But I dodged them every time, which made him even angrier. He made the bolts of lightning larger, but Adam yelled at him not to, because he might injure me. But Brennan shouted back that was the point.

Adam only watched helplessly and in amusement at the chaos that was happening in his lab. "Brennan! You better stop, 'cause if you want to get yourself killed. Keep up the good work! Just make her mad!"

"Yeah! Don't make me mad!" I yelled at him, laughing out loud.

Finallly, after ten whole minutes, which was boring me to death. Brennan stopped. I also stopped when I noticed that I wasn't chased anymore. I looked at Brennan who was out of breath and was panting and puffing. "Just give me a minute."

An hour later, Brennan started chasing me again. Again, I started to run away but I don't know why. I mean I can take him down easily but my legs started to run when he chased.I guess I enjoy a good chase.

I ran out to Adam's lab and I thought he said 'oh man.' I ran straight to an empty room and transformed.


	27. Test Of Love

Brennan ran in the direction I ran and then stopped and looked around. He couldn't see me anywhere. "Come out before I come and look for you!"

"Look for who?" said Shalimar, coming out of the empty room I ran into.

"I thought I heard my voice……" said Sharlimar walking into the room, a little confused. "Uh," was all she said when she saw me. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Who are you?!" I said as Shalimar, holding up my curled fists directed towards the real Shalimar, but of course, no one knows except me and the real Shalimar. "I asked who are you?! Answer me!"

Shalimar looked at me and snarled. Then she slowly walked around me, studying me and her eyes glowing. "I know I'm the real Shalimar, but the question is: Who are you?"

"I am the real Shalimar," I said as I eyed her suspiciously. "You better get out of here before I make you."

"No, I'm the real Shalimar," she repeated. I started to walk slowly around her, too and watching her. My eyes glowed a golden yellow just like the real Shalimar.

"You know I'm the real Shalimar, right Brennan?" asked the real Shalimar.

Brennan scratched his head and said, "Noooo. To be honest, I don't."

Adam came in and looked at the two Shalimars, confused. "What's going on here?"

Brennan turned to look at Adam for a solution. "Help me, please. I know one of them is Alex."

The real Shalimar relaxed when she realized that the other 'her' was me. I went back to normal, too, when she did.

"If you really love her, you will know who is the real Shalimar," Adam said simply and smiled. "I'll just watch while you try to get out of this mess."

"Adam!" Brennan said between clenched teeth. "I can't believe you said that out loud."

The real Shalimar who heard everything, she was genuinely shocked whereas I, on the other hand, already know about Brennan loving her but had to act shocked if I didn't want Brennan to find me suspicious and know it's me. I had to be careful.

"Alex, come out now and I won't hurt you, promise," said Brennan. "You know I will forgive you." "Or maybe not," he whispered to himself.

Brennan's eyebrows were pulled together as he was in deep in thought. "I-I..don't know."

The real Shalimar changed opinions suddenly, she decided to cooperate with me. She smiled and said mischievously, "Yeah, Brennan. If you really love me, you will know it's me."

"No, it's me," I said.

"Oh, great!" said Brennan throwing his hands up in the air. "Now they're working together."

"Ask Shalimar something that the fake one would not know," said Adam. "That might help."

Brennan stared at them uneasily and helplessly. He couldn't tell us apart. "It's not fair," he complained to Adam. "When Alex changes into someone, she knows everything that person knows and looks alike."

Meanwhile, Sam walked in and the only word that came out of her mouth was, "Whoa." Sam saw the confusion and desperation on Breannan's face and she giggled. Sam already know what was happening. "Looks like you got yourself tangled in a thick web."

"Sam, you can tell who's alex, right?" asked Brennan.

"Yeah, of course," Sam replied.

"You know how much I care for you and how I will risk my life to protect and save you if you're in danger. Well, Alex, too, but if she was in any danger right now, I'll be glad and won't move a muscle. So, please, tell me which one is Alex, so I can kill her!"

Sam simply laughed and waved a finger at Brennan. "Haven't you learned anything yet? I will never rat out a friend and, anyway, I don't want to be the one who will get killed by Alex."

'You better believe it,' I thought in my mind. I knew Sam received the message when I saw her smile.

"Now, I'll ask you nicely. Stop messing with my emotions! Said Brennan in distress.

The real Shalimar and I looked at each other and smiled. We were enjoying ourselves.

Sam went and stood beside Adam and they both watched in amusement. "I got to say," said Sam. "This is better than T.V, coffee, sneaking around, playing pranks, blowing up stuff, beating up bad guys or anyone for that matter, messing with your experiments, playing with your computer and using our powers combined. Or maybe not."

Adam turned around and looked at Sam. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did I hear you mention something about messing with my experiments and playing with my computer?"

"Oh, did I say something………? Nope," I said quickly answering my question for Adam. "Maybe I should give him a hint."

The real Shalimar and I smiled at each other and nodded. "That's fine with us."

Sam walked towards Brennan with all the authority of a teacher. "Well, you better listen well and listen good."

Sam tiptoed and whispered something in his ear. "If you really love her……….."

"Hey! Wait a minute!" How did you know about that?!"

"Oh, I read your mind," Said sam calmly.

"You did what?!" shouted Brennan.

"Oh, don't worry," sam assured Brennan. "Now, do you want a hint or not?"

"I want the hint."

"Good, then listen. So, if you really love Shalimar, you should be able to tell which one is the real one. You will love her for who she is and not only her apppearance. Now, the hint. If you really love her, look deep into her eyes and you will know which one is the one you love."

"WHAT KIND OF HINT IS THAT?!" asked Brennan. But he tried it anyway, that was how desperate he was.

He walked up to me and held me by the shoulders. He looked into my eyes. At first, I tolerated it but after a while, I grew uncomfortable and started to fidget. I had to resort to extreme measures when I couldn't stand it anymore.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I yelled as I slapped him continuously. I only stopped when Brennan got a hold of my hands and didn't let me slap him.

"That didn't work," he muttered.

He went over to the next Shalimar and looked deep into her eyes. They stared at each other for a long time and I realized how intensly they were staring at each other. Brennan reached up and moved some blonde locks and tucked it behind her ear. I could see that Brennan was holding his breath. He only exhaled when Shalimar smiled at him. And he smiled, too. "This……is…….the real Shalimar."


	28. Shopping, But……

I knew from that moment on, there was nothing I could say to change Brennan's mind. He had found his love and I knew that they only wanted to be alone. So I gestured to Adam and Sam to get out of the room. I wanted to stay, but Adam pulled me along. I sulked and said, "It's not fair, because of what I did, I brought them together. I should be able to watch."

"Yeah, because you caused the whole mess in the first place," said Adam.

"Oh!" I said as I complained. "It was an accident."

"Yeah, so that means you bringing them together was an accident also," answered Adam. "You didn't really mean to help them but to cause trouble so you shouldn't be able to watch. Not even me or anybody. They want to be alone."

When they finally came out, they were both smiling and had their arms around each other. I was going to ask them what happened, being the busy body and big mouth I was. But of course, Sam is also the same. But Sam is more mature in her behaviour than I am, so she didn't ask. Me, on the other hand, I was walking up to them, but Adam pulled me back on the way.

I grunted in disappointment when I was stopped by Adam and stuck my tongue out at him. I pouted the rest of the day because every time I tried to ask Brennan or Shalimar something, I was pulled back by Adam. I became aware that Adam was keeping an eye on me. Sam was also aware of it and she giggled in amusement every time she saw me being pulled back.

"Hey, no fair!" I yelled at Adam, as he yanked me by my t-shirt. "I'm curious! I want to know!"

"Curiosity killed the cat," Adam said.

"Well, I'm not a cat!" I yelled at him. "Now let go of me if you don't want to end up in the hospital or your own lab on a stretcher!"

"Alex," he said in the tone that told me he wasn't fooling around and that he was serious."

"Well, okay," I said reluctantly and he let me go. I walked grumpily to my room and stayed there.

I fell asleep on my bed and woke up two hours later. I got up from the bed and rubbed my eyes. I walked towards Adam's lab and heard some light footsteps and voices so I crept softly towards the shut door and pressed my ear against the door lightly. I was hoping to hear some secrets but there were no secrets. I opened the door and went in.

"Adam," I called when I saw him. "It's so boring here. Can we go out?"

"Yeah," Shalimar agreed, who was in the lab also. "Maybe I should take the girls out shopping. Do you see what they wear? Only t-shirt and jeans, no fashion in that at all."

"Hey!" I said in defense. "We like what we're wearing. We don't dress like sluts like someone we know but we won't name or point fingers," I said as I stared at Shalimar accusingly.

She stared at me in disbelief when she realized I was staring at her. "I do not dress like a slut!"

"I didn't say you did," I said simply.

"You accused me of dressing like a slut!"

"No, I didn't. I didn't point at you or say it was you."

When Shalimar couldn't say anything after a rapid argument between us, she turned to Adam for help. "Adam!"

"I won't say anything," he said. "You two work this out by yourselves."

"See!" I said, smiling triumphantly. "He won't say the truth because he's afraid he might hurt your feelings and end up being minced meat."

"I didn't say anything," said Adam with both hands raised up in the air. "Don't include me in this problem. Though it doesn't fail to amuse me how Alex or Sam comes up with the craziest ideas that cause problems most of the time."

Adam walked away. Shalimar folded her arms and tapped her right foot, waiting for an apology. I had lost interest in the argument so I apologized to her half-heartedly. She tried to make me apologise again but I was too bored and my attention kept wandering around. She knew that there was no way she could make me apologise whole heartedly so she had to be satisfied with that apology.

An hour later, Sam, Emma, Shalimar and I were in a coffee shop enjoying iced tea. Shalimar and Emma were talking about the latest fashions while Sam and I tried not to fall sleep listening to them. We tried to walk outside somewhere but they wouldn't let us. They were discussing about what clothes they should buy for us. I stood up and went to look at some framed art on the wall. Sam went to get a magazine to read.

I looked closely at a piece of art that had caught my eye. It was a painting of a beautiful woman holding a glowing sphere in the palms of her hands. Her long red hair was flying and her eyes were closed. In the background, there were swirling patterns of different colors. There was a faint outline of a figure in the background also. It seemed menacing and mysterious.

As I stared at it for a few moments, I realized I wasn't the only one enjoying the piece of art. I turned to look at the person standing beside me. I let out a gasp when I saw him. I was met with intense blue eyes. He had hair that had different shades of brown and was tall. He was the most handsome guy I've ever laid eyes on. He looked a few years older than me. He saw me staring at him and he smiled. I blushed and turned thirteen shades of red. I looked away shyly.

He had a warm smile. It made me weak in the knees. They felt like jelly. His intense and adorable blue eyes made me blush even more. I felt like I was going to collapse. He looked at me and said, "Hi, I'm Brad. What's your name?"

"I-I'm Alex," I managed to give him a weak smile.

"That's a nice name. I like it."

While I was trying not to say anything stupid, Shalimar, Emma and Sam were giggling and whispering to each other. They were watching Brad and I, and they saw my nervousness. I quickly excused myself from the conversation and went back to the table. I sat down in my seat and drank some of my iced tea. They all stared at me with mischievous and questioning eyes. I looked up when I realized they were all staring at me.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"Who was that?" they asked eagerly.

"Oh, he's Brad," I said casually, pretending like he didn't matter and he was just some ordinary person I met on the street. Unfortunatly, he wasn't. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him. It never did that before, except with someone I wouldn't name.

"Come on, Alex," said Shalimar. "Spill it. I saw the way you looked at him. I must admit, I never thought that tomboys could actually have crushes."

"Alex, we all saw your shyness," said Emma. "You're never shy."

"Yes, I am!" I said. "I'm shy when-when………uh…..I'm shy when……..Okay! Maybe I'm never shy but that doesn't mean that just because I was shy in front of him means that I like him!"

"Yes, it does," said Shalimar knowingly. "I should know."

"Oh, yeah," I replied. "Of course, you should know. You're in love with Brennan and half a dozen guys before him!"

"Hey! Don't change the subject!" said Shalimar.

"Just admit it, Alex," said Sam. "I know you like him, and I'm the person who knows you the best."

"Hmp. That still doesn't mean that I like him."

After the argument with the three of them that I lost, we decided to go buy clothes. We went to huge department stores that Sam and I got lost in every single one. But Shalimar and Emma seemed to know their way around really well. We bought bag after bag of clothes.

At one of the department stores, I stepped outside to get some fresh air and to get away from all the clothes. I looked around and noticed a little restaurant across the street. I told Shalimar over my com-link ring that I was across the street in a restaurant if she was wondering where I was. To my surprise, I saw Brad sitting at a table with some other guys. I quickly turned around to leave but Brad saw me and called to me.

"Alex, wait, don't leave," Brad said as he stood up and walked towards me. "Come and join me for lunch. We'll get another table."

I tried to refuse his offer but he wouldn't let me. He led me to a table and we sat down. He ordered us two glasses of coke.

"What would you like to have for lunch?" he asked.

"I'll have a salad," I said.

He ordered us two salads and turned his attention back to me. "So, fancy meeting you here again." He gave me one of his heart melting smiles and I blushed. 'Yeah' was all I could get out of my mouth. Our salads came and we ate our salads in silence. He didn't know if I wanted to talk to him or not and I didn't know what to say to him and I was also too nervous.

I looked at the open restaurant doors and saw Shalimar, Emma and Sam walk in. I smiled in relief. They walked towards our table smiling. They all gave me I-told-you looks. I greeted them when they reached our table and introduced everyone. Then they went to sit at a table near us.

"So, what are your hobbies?" Brad asked.

"Oh, I like beatin…….I mean I like being creative. I like painting."

"Oh, that's nice."

"What are your hobbies?"

"I take wrestling and shooting classes," he said.

"Wow, you sound like you're some kind of secret agent," I said smiling. "That's cool."

Brad chuckled. We were talking about his shooting classes when a beeping sound interrupted the conversation. He took out a device that looked like a very advanced and hi-tech cell phone. He excused himself and went outside. When he came back inside, he had a very serious look on his face. He apologized and said his boss needed him back at the company. He paid the restaurant and with that, he left without a goodbye.

I stared after him wondering what would be so important that he had to leave right away. Shalimar, Emma and Sam who were watching us the whole time came over when they saw what had happened.

"That jerk!" Shalimar said. "He just left you all alone. What was that thing he was holding? Maybe I shold go grind it into tiny pieces."

"It's okay," I said reassuringly. "He has a job and his boss needs him back. Besides, I don't want him to get fired."

I just shrugged and stood up. We were exhausted and needed to go back to Sanctuary for some rest.


	29. Complicated

For the next few weeks, Brad and I went out a little. We went to movies and festivals and restaurants. But sometimes, he left abruptly like the time at the restaurant. There wasn't much to do at Sanctuary so I was able to go out with Brad. Everyone teased me but my only defense was that we were just friends. I looked forward to every date, uh, I mean meeting we had and was really happy.

"I'm actually kind of happy that Alex is going out with that kid even though I'm worried as hell," Adam had commented one day. "There's a lot less pranks going on in Sanctuary lately."

"Yeah, you're right," Brennan said. "It's actually kind of nice, but, I feel like I kind of miss the pranks."

"I don't," said Emma. "I'm sure that you won't miss the pranks once there are pranks again."

Things were that way for a long time. Once, Brad had to go on a business trip and I wouldn't be able to see him for three whole weeks. I practiced with the robots in the dojo or the other members of Mutant X to get my mind off him.

"Jesse!" I shouted. "Please come and practice with me in the dojo."

"Ohhhhhh," Jesse grunted. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," I answered.

He followed me reluctantly into the dojo. I smiled cheerfully and stretched out first. Then I fell into the position to fight. But first, I changed into Jessica Simpson, who I knew Jesse really liked and it caught him off guard.

"Oh man," Jesse whined. "Stop changing, it really freaks me out."

"Good."

I was Jessica Simpson and because of that, Jesse was holding back a lot. "You're holding back!" I shouted as we threw puches at each other.

"No, I'm not," he shouted back.

"Oh, so if you're not holding back, that means you really do suck!" I said, laughing.

"Okay, maybe I am holding back," Jesse admitted, "but only because you're……………."

"Someone you're in love with right now?" I finished his sentence for him. "I know that, that's why I changed into her. It gives me an advantage."

I kicked Jesse and punched his chest. He tried to hit me but I jumped and dodged it. Next, I swung my leg and hit his right arm. He groaned and his hand automatically went to his arm. He rolled up his sleeve which showed a big bruise. I couldn't help but laugh.

I was laughing so hard, my stomach hurt. When Jesse was charging towards me, I didn't notice. He threw a punch at me, and I gave out a cry of surprise and ducked just in time. He kept throwing fast punches at me and I dodged most of them. I jumped out of the way and landed on my feet on the other side of the dojo. I was out of breath and was breathing heavily.

Jesse smiled in satisfaction. "Have you had enough?"

"No!" I shouted. I changed into Brennan and zapped him with small bolts of lightning while laughing all the time. Jesse tried to dodge all of them, but couldn't. When he was totally exhausted, he fell down onto the floor and lay there staring at the ceiling. I changed back into myself and walked over towards him. He warned me not to take advantage of his exhaustion. I smiled sweetly and assured him that I woudn't. Then I changed into Sam and froze his feet so he couldn't get up and walk until it melted.

"Hey!!!" Jesse yelled. "You can't do this!!"

"Oh yeah?" I asked. "I just did."

But as soon as I was out of the dojo, Jesse followed me out. "I guess you forgot I could phase through the ice, huh?"

"My mistake," I said. I changed into Brennan and zapped him with another bolt of lightning, then changed back into myself.


	30. Top Secret Super Computer Or Not?

A lot of things were happening during the three weeks. At first, there were reports of mutants dying. It seemed that there was someone who probably worked for the GSA going around and murdering mutants. We worked on the case for months but still came up with no results. After a long time, we didn't hear any more about any murders so we had to drop the case since we couldn't so anything.

Secondly, there were reports of people going crazy. It seemed that their minds were being tortured. Adam knew it was related to mutants. We were able to track down the mutant but not in any exact place. The mutant was in some place and it was a job for Emma and Sam. They went with Adam while the others and I stayed at Sanctuary.

A few days before they left, Adam gave a speech on what we could do and what we couldn't do. That guy seems like he's a parent, I thought. Adam told us that while he was gone, Brennan was in charge and we had listen to him. I thought I saw Brennan say 'yes' very quietly. Adam also said that we had to check with Brennan before going anywhere. For some reason, Adam looked at me and said to make sure not to get into any trouble. Adam, Emma, and Sam were going to be away for a few weeks.

Later, I found Adam in his lab in front of his computer. I crept quickly, hoping to scare Adam but Sam saw me outside the lab and said hi. When Adam heard Sam, he looked up and saw me. I went up to him and asked him what he was doing as Sam walked into the lab.

"Adam, what are you doing?" I asked.

"I am just shutting and locking up my super computers because I don't want anyone using them," Adam responded working again.

"Hi, Adam. Hi Alex. So you don't want what with your super computer?" Sam asked.

I knew Sam heard what he said and I realized that there was a hidden message for me.

"I said I was shutting and locking up my computers so no one can use them," Adam said again.

When he said that, Sam and I giggled and I think Adam thought we were crazy or something. Sam and I giggled because Adam thought his super computer couldn't be broken into. Sam and I decided to leave Adam alone because he looked busy.

Sam and I walked to my room and closed the door. We made sure no one could hear us before we started to talk. Sam and I started to laugh like crazy because of what Adam had said earlier. Adam thought no one even Jesse could get into his computer and he is sooo wrong. We use Adam's computer all the time. We laid on my bed and thought back towards one of the incidents.

flashback 

Adam and the team had left on a mission. We didn't have anything to do so Sam and I had broken into Adam's computer. We saw many of his experimentations and scientific stuff. Although it was boring, Sam looked through it with interest. Finally, we hit something very interesting. Adam was sending e-mails to someone.

Sam got a hit off the e-mails and found out the person was Adam's girlfriend. Sam searched through Adam's files to find some things about her. We found out she was a scientist, obviously, that worked at Genomex. Adam and her had worked closely together, a little closer that any pair of partners I think.

Sam managed to pull up a picture of her. And let me tell you, she was ugly and almost too scary to look at. On a scale of 1 to 10 and 10 being the best and 1 being the worst, her looks were like -1000. When Sam saw her, she almost threw up. We can't believe that Adam could fall in love with her.

Then, Sam starting to shut the computers down and I knew why. They were coming back and I could sense them. I told Sam to hurry. As soon as they walked in, Sam and I dashed to the hangar bay and met them. Trying not to look suspicious, we asked them about the mission.

They told us it was successful and nothing more. I knew they would have said more, but they were just too tired to talk. The others went to bed and Adam for some reason just stared at us. I thought he knew that we knew about his girlfriend but Sam assured me that he didn't know.

Later, I saw Adam working in his lab and I couldn't help it. I had to find out who that ugly lady was and how he could find her attractive. I guess Sam had that same problem because she was there before me asking him some questions.

"Adam, who is that ugly lady?" I asked.

"What ugly lady?" Adam asked confused.

"You know the lady on your comp…," I starting saying. I couldn't finish because I realized that Adam didn't know that we were using his computer.

"My what?" Adam asked suspecting something.

"That picture of the lady at your computer desk's third drawers," I said hoping he would believe me.

"You mean my mother?" Adam said.

"Uhh….Yes?" I said.

"Man, Alex, you can't even make up a good lie," Sam said. She hit Adam with something. Then Adam fainted.

"What did you do?" I asked with concern.

"Don't worry. I hit Adam with a psychic dose of sleeping pill and erasing his memories of the past 10 minutes," Sam replied with a smile.

end of flashback 


	31. Save Me

Sam's Point Of View 

After the flashback, I went back to my room and packed some clothes. As I was packing, Emma came in and she looked tired. I wonder why because lately, Emma always seemed tired. She said she wanted to talk and I told her to come in and sit down. She sat down and I closed the door.

"Sam, can you keep a secret?" she asked.

"Depends on the one who's telling me," I said.

"Would you keep a secret if I told you one?"

"Probably but why?"

"You and I know that our powers keep on growing and become more powerful, right?"

"Yeah and what?"

"Well, I think my power is getting stronger and it is growing as of right now."

"Of course, it should happen but I'm guessing it is something more than that, right?"

"I was used to my powers and could keep it under control but now, it seems that I can't control it anymore."

"So, you have been reading us and you can't control it, right?"

"Yeah but that is not all, I accidently hit Jesse with a powerful dose of grief and I can't control it."

"Alright, so Jesse is in his bed crying, is that it?"

"Yeah and if I go in there, I know I will feel it too. So could you go in and help him?"

"Sure, but………when you were reading us, well, Alex to be more specific. Did you find out something, uh…….interesting?"

"No, why?"

"Nothing," I replied as I we walked out of my room.

As soon as she was done, I rushed into Jesse's room and hit him with a large dose of bliss and Jesse's mood lightened. He felt normal again. Once I helped Jesse, I noticed Emma was holding her head and I felt darkness and only darkness. It was as if I was lost in a very dark cave which was icy cold.

Then, I realized that Emma had hit me with her new, uncontrollable powers. Although I knew it was an illusion, I couldn't help but tremble because it seemed so real. I tried my best to fight it off but I couldn't. I couldn't believe how powerful Emma was. No matter how much I tried to fight it, I couldn't. I felt myself slipping away and losing grip on my powers. The darkness engulfed me. I sent a message to Alex for help just as I lost control.

Alex rushed in and changed into Emma. Alex projected an image of a field of flowers into my mind and tried to wipe out the image of the dark, icy cold cave. She added a rainbow in the happy image and also added pandas in there, which were my favorite animal. Then, when I felt better and was more stable with my powers, I did the rest. I gained control of my powers and went on to help Emma who was lost in her unmanageable powers.

I connected with Emma's mind and tried to help Emma stable her powers. It was a difficult task and it showed on both of our faces. We were struggling. Alex changed into me and also tried to help Emma. With our combined psionic powers, Emma's powers were stabled. She was in control again. We all sighed in relief and Alex changed back into herself.

Then we heard Adam calling us, it was time to leave Sanctuary. I said goodbye to Alex and went with Emma to the helix. It was a long flight to reach our destination.

Emma and I entered the Helix and looked tired. Adam asked us what was the matter. Emma said it was nothing and since I promised that I would keep her secret, I said it was nothing. But for some reason, Adam didn't seem to believe us. But he didn't say anymore and he started up the Helix. Luckily, Adam flew the Helix because Emma and I were worn out. Emma and I slept through the whole trip.


	32. New Problems

When I woke up, I found myself on a bed, I realized that I was in a hotel. I thought I was supposed to be in the Helix. But before I thought of anything else, I tried to find Emma or Adam and couldn't. So I left the room and went in search of them.

After awhile, I returned to the room and called room service. I guess I was really hungry. When I went to the telephone, I saw a note. It was from Adam. He said that they left to search for the hospital and to check on the patients.

They left me because I looked too tired and wanted me to rest. Then I wondered if Emma had told Adam about her uncontrollable powers or was it just concern. But it didn't matter, all I cared for at the moment was food. I haven't eaten all day. After eating, I felt better and decided to get some rest. I fell asleep while watching some television. And then I heard some whispering but I was too sleepy to care.

The next morning, I heard people talking and I slowly I got up. I realized Adam and Emma was already up. Now I wondered why Emma wasn't tired like me, perhaps her new powers doesn't drain. Anyway, I went to ask them how the patients were. Adam said that his predictions were right and we had to find a way to help them.

I knew it would be hard but with Emma's new power, it would be easier. Then, Adam asked me how I was feeling. He told me that he knew about Emma's new power and that I was tired because Alex and I had helped her. I thought I had told him and I was about to apologize to Emma for breaking her promise but Emma told me she had told Adam.

I asked them about Alex and how she was because if she didn't help me, I couldn't have save Emma or myself. Adam told me that Alex was fine because when she transformed into a person, she got their power and using Emma's new power didn't tire her at all unlike me. I was satisfied or disappointed because I wondered why I always got injured the most and the one who healed last. I began to wish that I had different powers.

Adam said that he and I will try to locate and stop the powerful mutant causing the problem before he or she hurt any more people while Emma helped the victims. I had a feeling that this would be hard for Adam because he didn't have any powers to defend himself. I also knew that Adam will not stay behind and will tag along because he won't let me get the mutant by myself. I would have to protect Adam at all costs and I knew that I was going to go home injured really badly. It was times like this that I wished I had healing powers.

That afternoon, Adam and I went out to search for the mutant and Emma went to the hospital to help the victims. Adam told me that the mutant was probably a telempathy like Emma and a very powerful one at that. I had hoped that I was a feral mutant or something other than telepathy because that way I could fight. But being a telepathy meant that it could manipulate my feelings or worse, Adam's. I just hoped I could fight it off because I knew it would be difficult. After facing Emma, I can tell you that I hope it will not happen again.

Adam and I were wondering through some part of the city. We were near some alley ways and heard a scream. We ran in the direction of the scream and found a young man shivering. He was scared and we knew the mutant was close. I turned when I heard something moving and saw a black figure running towards an abandoned factory. Adam was helping the young man and didn't notice. I followed the figure into the factory. I knew if I didn't tell Adam and left him, he won't get hurt and that is one less thing that I have to worry about.

As I ran towards the factory, I heard Adam yelling my name and I knew he didn't know where I was. Slowly and quietly, I walked into the factory and I could tell it was a fish factory because it smelled fishy. I heard someone approach me from behind. I turned around and saw a girl who was about my age. She had messy reddish blonde hair. She wore a purple top on and a pair of tight jeans. I had a feeling that she was the one I was looking for.

"Why are you hurting these innocent people?" I asked as I watched her closely.

"It's fun," she answered. "I like it."

"It's not fun hurting people."

"Yes, it is. You should try it."

Then she lifted some barrels off the ground with her mind and threw them at me. I dodged them with ease because Alex always fired lightning bolts at me and I had to learn to dodge. She saw that I was pretty good and threw more barrels. Still, I dodged it all. I asked for her name and she told me that it was Rose.

Then all of a sudden, I heard a familiar voice and I hoped I was imagining it. I turned around and saw Adam standing there. It wasn't that I didn't want to see him. I just didn't want to see him hurt.

"Adam, what are you doing here?" I yelled.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same question," he said as I ran towards him. "Is that the mutant causing the trouble?

"Yeah it is. How did you find me and why?" I asked.

"I heard noises coming from here and I knew it was you fighting when I noticed that you were missing and I had to find you. Why did you leave me behind?"

"I knew that you couldn't fight her and I didn't want you to get hurt. Plus, I can fight better without you."

"Are you saying that I would be a burden?"

"No, I mean you may get hurt if I used my powers at its fullest. Remember the time I burned the invisible wall., my power scared you and I don't want that to happen again. Also, you are completely defenseless against her."

As I finished that very sentence, I felt a very sharp object pierce my skin and into my back. I yelled out in pain and surprised Adam. Rose had seen that I was distracted and took the opportunity to hurt me when I was off guard. Stupid me, I scolded myself.

I removed the knife from my back and Adam realized what had happened. Rose knew I was an worthy opponent and she also knew my weaknesses. I knew she was good and I decided I wouldn't be caught off guard again.

I told Adam to stay back and to find some place safe when I fought. Afterward, I charged towards her. Rose knew that she had gotten my attention, but I sensed some fear from her. I started hurling fireballs and icicles at her. Unlike me, she couldn't dodge all of them, instead she was hit by most of them. I knew I was winning and it was too easy. But unfortunately, I was right. She was only testing my power and she was holding back the entire time.

All of a sudden, I heard her tell me to use all my powers. I was surprised that she knew I was holding back. I told her no because I might seriously hurt her or myself. She asked me once more and threatened that if I refused, something terrible might happen. I thought she was buffing so I still refused. Then I figured out what she meant when I heard Adam scream in pain. I looked back and saw Adam on the floor. She was mentally hurting Adam because she wanted me to fight at full power.

As I heard Adam scream in more pain, I couldn't take it anymore. This was like the time Alex had attacked Adam. I felt my anger explode into a level beyond control. I was furious and she was smiled in approval. I was blinded by my anger and I held nothing back. I charged at her and she dodged it. I threw a fireball and predicted where she would dodge to and then threw more fireballs that she couldn't dodge. Next, I blasted her with sharp shards of ice. Then, she and I went at it. There was an exchange of punches and kicks. She was very powerful but I had the upper hand because I was an elemental.

When I had calmed down and knocked her out, I ran quickly and exhaustedly towards Adam to see if he was okay. Adam seemed to be okay. He was just a little shaken up.

When I looked up, I saw a knife flying towards me. I started to jump away to avoid it but then I realized that the knife wasn't aimed towards me. It was flying towards Adam.

I rushed back and tried to knock the knife out of its course. I threw fireballs at it but missed. So I did the only thing left to do . I jumped at Adam and knocked him to the floor while the knife flew straight at me.

I felt a surge of pain as the knife stabbed my chest and it hurt much more than before. I landed on the floor, unable to move due to the pain. I heard Adam call me but he seemed distant. And slowly, a black curtain came over my eyes and I saw darkness only.


	33. The Shadow Realm

Again I felt that I was in that same icy cold dark cave but this time it was worse. I couldn't see any beautiful images but only saw terrible images and painful memories. It was so bad there that I couldn't even focus on my powers. I felt like I had drifted away to some faraway place.

I felt all alone and frightened. I couldn't see anything but darkness. It seemed that the darkness went on and on forever in every direction. I wasn't sure if this was reality or a terrible nightmare. A nightmare that I couldn't seem to wake up from it. I felt like everything that I cared for was gone. I felt all kinds of emotions and none of them was good. There was sadness, loneliness, despair, anguish, hopelessness, misery and above all, pain. Pain was everywhere and I felt empty.

I tried to fight this feeling and it just didn't work. I fought with all my strength but it wasn't enough. And just when I had lost all hope, I heard something. I tried to find it but it was gone again. Just when I was about to give up again, I heard her speak once more.

"Fight it, Sam."

"I can't, it's too powerful."

"Don't give in."

"It is too much, I can't take anymore."

"But you have to fight it. You have what it takes."

"Then tell me how."

"That you will have to figure out on your own. Remember you are not alone."

Then the voice left and again I was alone. I started to feel the darkness returning. Somehow I regained some hope and thought about what the voice had said. I told myself that I had it in me but wondered about what I had to do.

I couldn't think of anything, but thought about the second thing that she said. She said that I was not alone. But I am, I thought. I didn't see anyone. I thought about Adam, Alex, Emma and my friends who were waiting for me.

I wondered what they were doing right now. I wondered how their lives would be without me. I knew I would never be able to leave and go back. But then I felt something warm. I starting running that way and it got warmer. I began to hear voices. I saw a black figure ahead of me. I could tell it was saying something but it was too distant. I kept on running but I didn't seem to get any closer. So I decided to stop and just let myself melt into the darkness once again.

I thought I heard someone calling me and felt the warmth again. I thought about Alex, my best friend in the entire world, Adam, my friend and victim, and Mutant X, who is or was my family. I would miss it and I wished that I could 've at least said goodbye before I left. I hope they will forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye, I thought. I gave up all hope and believed that I had died. I guess this is what death probably feels like, I thought.

I started wondering what really happened. I remember that I was going to take the knife for Adam. I jumped and the knife stabbed me instead. I landed on the floor and blacked out. Now that I thought about it, I realized the knife couldn't have killed me. I have been injured worse in my life and a little knife wound couldn't have taken me down. And then it hit me. I wasn't dead but I was in an illusion created by Rose. The voices must have been Adam and the others calling me. I finally understood what the voice meant. This illusion was created to make me believe that I was dead and it almost worked.

As soon as I realized this, the voices became louder and clearer. However, something was stopping them and I tried hard to focus on it. I recognized one of the voice. It was Adam trying to get to me. I started to see a figure. It was fuzzy but it was there. I felt something pushing me back nearly crushing me. I knew that if I believed in my power, I could overpower her and my friends were there to supporting me. So I couldn't let them or myself down. I focused all of my strength and thought about my friends. I heard their voices getting louder.

Although it was getting harder and harder to move, I refused to give up. I saw the black figure leading me to the exit. I followed it and started to see light. It was warm and comforting and I knew nothing could hold me back, not even Rose.

Slowly I opened my eyes and I saw someone bending above me. I couldn't tell who it was but after a while, my eyes focused and saw Adam staring at me with relief. I looked around and saw that I was still in the factory on the floor. I wondered why Adam didn't call Emma to help me. It would have been a lot easier if she was there to help.

Almost at once, I felt the wounds and my body refused to move. I just hated that feeling. I saw Rose fainted on the ground. And I looked at Adam for an explanation. Seeing my confused expression, Adam knew what I was going to say and told me that she fainted as I was fighting with her powers.

Adam told me that when I was stabbed and in pain, I was vulnerable and she was angry that she couldn't win. So she attacked my mind hoping that would stop me. At the end, she was no match and fainted. Adam complimented me on how brave I was and how I didn't give up.

I smiled weakly to myself because I did give up. Then my eyes couldn't stay open any longer and I fell asleep. Emma entered the factory as soon as I closed my eyes. Adam carried me while Emma carried Rose. We returned to the hotel.

I was worn out physically and mentally. While I were fighting Rose, Emma entered all the victims' mind and helped them block Rose's powers. Our mission was finished, so Adam and Emma packed up. While they packed, I was in the Helix resting. I knew I was going home injured but I had never expected it to be this severe. I knew I was going to be in the lab for a very long time and I didn't need Adam to tell me that.

Before we headed home, Adam started treating some of my physical wounds while Emma helped me recover mentally. At that very moment, I felt that I had achieved something great, but felt completely useless. Both Adam and Emma told me that I was not useless but just worn out. For the first time in my life, I felt weak and fragile but happy.

Adam finished treating most of my serious wounds and Emma helped me relax. I still felt weak but a lot better. Adam told me the only thing left to do was to rest the body and the mind. He made me promise him that I wouldn't move around much until after a week or so of rest. He also said that I could absolutely not train or fight for a while. I was forced to promise him. I feel like a prisoner in the Adam Kane prison but I guess Adam knew what he was talking about so I decided to listen to him for a while.

Once I felt that I could move on my own again, Adam and Emma returned to the hotel room and finished some business. I, on the other hand, had to get the stuff and myself aboard the Helix. As soon as Adam and Emma entered, we headed home.

When we got home, Emma and I couldn't sense anyone. Then we started to wonder. Adam came out of the lab holding a piece of paper in his hand. It was a note from the others.

It said, " Dear Adam, we are away right now. We had decided to go camping in the Amazon forest. So see you when you get back. Hopefully we'll be back before you do. - Brennan


	34. Lost

Adam shook his head and smiled. He raised his com-link and contacted Brennan.

"Brennan," he called.

"Oh, Adam, you're back, huh?" Brennan's voice came in.

"Yes, we're back and I'm pretty sure you should be back, too," said Adam chuckling.

"Adam, we've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"Alex and Jesse decided to camp together and Shalimar and I camped together. We were going to meet at a decided place after the camping but they never showed up, so I contacted Jesse on his com-link ring. It worked and he was able to tell us that they had gotten lost while hiking before something went wrong with the com-link rings and our only means of communication with them was lost."

"Oh, that's bad," said Adam. "And I take it that you have not found them yet?"

"Yes, and what's worse is that I'm afraid they will run out of food and won't know how to survive in the woods."

"I'm not so sure about that," said Adam. "They're intelligent people and I'm pretty sure they won't starve and I _know_ they won't be attacked or killed by some wild animal."

"Yeah, you're right," Brennan said. "Anyways, we'll come back and then decide the best way to find them."

"Okay."

Adam turned around after talking to Brennan and looked at us. We knew what had happened so he didn't need to tell us. We waited until Brennan and Shalimar got back. When they returned, we spread out a map of the Amazon forest. They marked the spots where they camped or went to and the direction Jesse and Alex went and where they might be.

We decided that we would use the Helix and see if we might spot them and also go in search of them on foot. We kind of cringed at the idea of having to search the forest to find them because it wasn't a small forest. It was huge and they could be anywhere in there.

Alex's Point Of View 

I looked at Jesse frustrated one more time. Why couldn't it had happened some other time or some other place? Why did it have to happen here? Why now? But then……… I don't really mind because I'm here with him……………No! No! No! I shouldn't! I have a boyfriend, I told myself.

I sighed deeply and moaned. Jesse's head jerked up surprised. "Are you feeling okay? Do you feel sick? he asked.

"No," I replied miserably. "I'm just having an inner struggle right now."

"Oh," he said. "Would you like to talk about it, maybe?"

"Uh….." I turned away and blushed. He didn't know what I was being miserable about. I would just die of embarrassment if I told him. "Uh, he he, uh, well, you see. I don't think it would do any good if I talked about it."

"Okay, if that's want you want," he said.

He went back to working on the com-link rings while I went back to scowling myself. 'Why' was the only word I had in my mind right now. I was bored so I changed into Christina Aguilera just for fun. Jesse looked up and jumped a little from the shock of finding Christina Aguilera sitting on the huge rock instead of me. He realized quickly that it was me and went back to the com-links.

"Didn't I ask you not to surprise me by shape-shifting into other people?" he asked while he was working on the com-link rings.

"Yeah, you did," I said absentmindedly.

"Then why do you keep doing it?"

"Because it's fun," I replied.

"Please try not to surprise me anymore," he begged.

"I'll try."

We sat in silence for a long time. He worked on the rings while I studied the green environment around us. The trees stood tall and proud with their strong and leafy branches. Long ferns grew near the trunks of the trees and vines hung from their branches as well. Flowers bloomed in the fertile ground and the ground was grassy. It was also littered with many different colored kind of leaves and twigs. Bugs and insects crawled about. I heard birds flying around in some of the tallest of the branches. It seemed like we had entered a whole new world. This world was green and lush. The wild animals thrived in this world and I felt right at home.

As I smiled to myself contentedly and admired the beauty around us, Jesse stopped working and looked around at the forest too. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I said in a low voice. "It feels so different here."

"Yeah, I think I know what you mean," said Jesse. "So, uh, Alex….." he said after a while.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"About Brad, do you know a lot about him?"

"Yeah, of course I do," I replied.

"Like what?"

I looked at Jesse confused. "Why do you need to know? If you're thinking what I think you are, then you're wrong! Brad's very sweet and nice. He cares for me."

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Jesse said. "Because……………"

"Because what?! Because you think I'm irresponsible?! Is that it?! Well, I can take care of myself."

Jesse nodded and started to work on the rings again. I sighed deeply again and thought miserably. I had been quite mean and loud at Jesse just now and I was feeling kind of bad about it. "Uh, Jesse?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry about what happened a minute ago. I'm just going a little crazy here."

"Yeah, me too," smiled Jesse.

I smiled too when I saw Jesse smile at me. My face turned red. I was blushing and I didn't know. "Why are you turning red? Your cheeks are pink."

"I am………….?" I said and trailed off. "Oh."

I turned even redder when I realized I was blushing and that Jesse saw me blushing. I looked away and said," Um, oh, it must be the cold. I guess I'm not used to the cold in the forest."

"Then you better put on a sweater or get inside the tent," said Jesse concerned. "I don't want you getting sick."

I smiled at his concern. "Oh, it's nothing. I'll be fine."

"Just in case…….." he said and he got up and went inside his tent. He came out a few seconds later with a brown jacket in hand. He put it over my shoulders to keep me warm.

"Thanks," I said as I blushed a bright red.

Then Jesse suddenly said," Ah, I give up for today. I'll work on them tomorrow. Come on, Alex. Let's go to bed early. I know we're both exhausted."

"Okay," I said obediently. "Oh, and here's your jacket."

"Thanks," he said. He stood waiting until I went inside my tent and everything was okay, then he disappeared inside his own tent. I whispered 'goodnight' and fell asleep.


End file.
